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Ipamorelin Meds

The meal test

Give the Ipamorelin disappointments a shelf.

The founding experiment, the clinical disappointment and the borrowed combination evidence belong on the same shelf.

Selectivity, then a plate of food

Raun and colleagues’ selectivity paper is the reason the molecule has a distinctive reputation. Gobburu and colleagues’ volunteer study supplies the human pulse and kinetic measurements. Then Beck and colleagues’ bowel-resection trial asks the harder question of a useful clinical result. These are the papers I'd put at the front of the file.

The awkward animal papers are essential

The adiposity experiment in mice complicates a straightforward fat-loss story. The rat pancreatic-tissue experiment complicates a growth-hormone-only story. The ferret cisplatin experiment concerns protection against weight loss, without an anti-emetic effect. These exact findings are worth preserving in their own right.

Hexarelin, GHRP-2 and the absent pair

Hexarelin with GHRH, GHRP-2 with GHRH, and the prolonged GHRP-6 infusion are related-compound studies. CJC-1295 in healthy adults is single-agent work. The orthopaedic primer and sports-medicine safety review are reviews. Their provenance gives the stack file its central question.

  1. Raun K, Hansen BS, Johansen NL, Thogersen H, Madsen K, Ankersen M, Andersen PH. Ipamorelin, the first selective growth hormone secretagogue. Eur J Endocrinol. 1998;139(5):552-561. ↗
  2. Gobburu JV, Agerso H, Jusko WJ, Ynddal L. Pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic modeling of ipamorelin, a growth hormone releasing peptide, in human volunteers. Pharm Res. 1999;16(9):1412-1416. ↗
  3. Beck DE, Sweeney WB, McCarter MD; Ipamorelin 201 Study Group. Prospective, randomized, controlled, proof-of-concept study of the ghrelin mimetic ipamorelin for the management of postoperative ileus in bowel resection patients. Int J Colorectal Dis. 2014;29(12):1527-1534. (NCT00672074) ↗
  4. Johansen PB, Nowak J, Skjaerbaek C, Flyvbjerg A, Andreassen TT, Wilken M, Orskov H. Ipamorelin, a new growth-hormone-releasing peptide, induces longitudinal bone growth in rats. Growth Horm IGF Res. 1999;9(2):106-113. ↗
  5. Lu Z, Ngan MP, Liu JYH, Yang L, Tu L, Chan SW, Giuliano C, Lovati E, Pietra C, Rudd JA. The growth hormone secretagogue receptor 1a agonists, anamorelin and ipamorelin, inhibit cisplatin-induced weight loss in ferrets: Anamorelin also exhibits anti-emetic effects via a central mechanism. Physiol Behav. 2024;284:114644. ↗
  6. Stokes AH, Falls JG, Yoon L, Cariello N, Faiola B, Colton HM, Jordan HL, Berridge BR. Integrated approach to early detection of cardiovascular toxicity induced by a ghrelin receptor agonist. Int J Toxicol. 2015;34(2):151-161. ↗
  7. Bowers CY, et al. Sustained elevation of pulsatile growth hormone (GH) secretion and insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I), IGF-binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3), and IGFBP-5 concentrations during 30-day continuous subcutaneous infusion of GH-releasing peptide-2 in older men and women. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2004;89:2290-2300. ↗
  8. Massoud AF, et al. The effect of repeated administration of hexarelin, a growth hormone releasing peptide, and growth hormone releasing hormone on growth hormone responsivity. Clin Endocrinol (Oxf). 1996;44:555-562. ↗
  9. Jaffe CA, et al. Effects of a prolonged growth hormone (GH)-releasing peptide infusion on pulsatile GH secretion in normal men. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1993;77:1641-1647. ↗
  10. Bowers CY, et al. GHRP-2, GHRH and SRIF interrelationships during chronic administration of GHRP-2 to humans. J Pediatr Endocrinol Metab. 1996;9 Suppl 3:261-270. ↗
  11. Sinha DK, Balasubramanian A, Tatem AJ, Rivera-Mirabal J, Yu J, Kovac J, Pastuszak AW, Lipshultz LI. Beyond the androgen receptor: the role of growth hormone secretagogues in the modern management of body composition in hypogonadal males. Transl Androl Urol. 2020;9(Suppl 2):S149-S159. ↗
  12. Walker RF. Sermorelin: a better approach to management of adult-onset growth hormone insufficiency? Clin Interv Aging. 2006;1(4):307-308. ↗
  13. Teichman SL, Neale A, Lawrence B, Gagnon C, Castaigne JP, Frohman LA. Prolonged stimulation of growth hormone (GH) and insulin-like growth factor I secretion by CJC-1295, a long-acting analog of GH-releasing hormone, in healthy adults. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2006;91(3):799-805. ↗
  14. Lall S, Tung LY, Ohlsson C, Jansson JO, Dickson SL. Growth hormone (GH)-independent stimulation of adiposity by GH secretagogues. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2001;280(1):132-138. ↗
  15. Lawrence CB, Snape AC, Baudoin FM, Luckman SM. Acute central ghrelin and GH secretagogues induce feeding and activate brain appetite centers. Endocrinology. 2002;143(1):155-162. ↗
  16. Adeghate E, Ponery AS. Mechanism of ipamorelin-evoked insulin release from the pancreas of normal and diabetic rats. Neuro Endocrinol Lett. 2004;25(6):403-406. ↗
  17. Mayfield CK, et al. Injectable Peptide Therapy: A Primer for Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Physicians. Am J Sports Med. 2026. ↗
  18. Mendias CL, et al. Safety and Efficacy of Approved and Unapproved Peptide Therapies for Musculoskeletal Injuries and Athletic Performance. Sports Med. 2026. ↗