Muscle & growth hormone
Ipamorelin: published research
A five-amino-acid peptide that acts on the ghrelin receptor to make the pituitary gland release growth hormone. It drew interest because, in early studies, it raised growth hormone without the large rises in cortisol and prolactin seen with older compounds of the same type.
Evidence at a glance
3 studies 1999–2000
- 1 Human trial
- 2 Animal study
What researchers look at
- Growth-hormone release
- Ghrelin receptor
- Pituitary signalling
- Bone growth
What is still unknown
The human study here measured how healthy volunteers' bodies handle it over a short time; longer human studies are lacking.
Studies in people
1- Human trial
In healthy male volunteers, intravenous ipamorelin produced a single episode of growth hormone release at every level tested and had a short terminal half-life of about two hours.
Gobburu JV, et al. Pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic modeling of ipamorelin, a growth hormone releasing peptide, in human volunteers. Pharmaceutical Research. 1999. PMID 10496658
Animal studies
2- Animal study
In adult female rats, 12 weeks of continuous ipamorelin increased bone mineral content through larger bone size rather than denser bone (volumetric density unchanged), alongside body-weight gain; GHRP-6 and GH were tested in separate groups.
Svensson J, et al. The GH secretagogues ipamorelin and GH-releasing peptide-6 increase bone mineral content in adult female rats. The Journal of Endocrinology. 2000. PMID 10828840
- Animal study
In adult female rats, ipamorelin dose-dependently increased longitudinal bone growth rate and body-weight gain without changing total IGF-I or bone turnover markers.
Johansen PB, et al. Ipamorelin, a new growth-hormone-releasing peptide, induces longitudinal bone growth in rats. Growth Hormone & IGF Research. 1999. PMID 10373343
Short summaries of published studies, with links to the original papers. Results in animals or cells may not apply to people. This is not medical advice and not a guide to use.