Sleep & Mood

A growth hormone-releasing hormone analog that was previously FDA-approved for diagnosing GH deficiency in children.

A naturally occurring neuropeptide involved in social bonding, trust, and reproduction, FDA-approved for labor induction.

A synthetic analogue of vasopressin (ADH) FDA-approved for diabetes insipidus, bedwetting, and bleeding disorders.

A 36-amino-acid endogenous neuropeptide, one of the most abundant in the mammalian brain and the central nervous system's primary orexigenic (hunger-driving) signal.

The 31-amino-acid endogenous opioid peptide cleaved from POMC in the pituitary and hypothalamus. The canonical 'endorphin' of popular science — invoked to explain runner's high, placebo analgesia, and acupuncture — though modern evidence has substantially weakened the classical runner's-high story.

A growth hormone-releasing hormone analog that stimulates the pituitary gland to produce more growth hormone.

An orally active growth hormone secretagogue that mimics ghrelin to stimulate GH and IGF-1 release.

A modified growth hormone releasing hormone analog with a shorter half-life than DAC-conjugated CJC-1295, allowing more physiological GH pulsing.

A 17-amino-acid endogenous neuropeptide discovered in 1995 as the natural ligand of the orphan opioid-like receptor (now the NOP receptor), cleaved from the same prepronociceptin precursor as nocistatin but with functionally opposing pain pharmacology.

A selective growth hormone secretagogue that stimulates GH release without significantly affecting cortisol or prolactin.

An endogenous somatostatin-family neuropeptide identified in 1996 by Luis de Lecea and J. Gregor Sutcliffe at the Scripps Research Institute, expressed in cortical and hippocampal GABAergic interneurons and signaling through all five somatostatin receptors plus the ghrelin receptor and a separate cortistatin-preferring binding site, with distinctive roles in slow-wave sleep, neuronal depression, and immune anti-inflammatory regulation that distinguish it from somatostatin despite extensive pharmacological overlap.

An endogenous neuropeptide isolated from porcine spinal cord by Naoto Minamino, Kenji Kangawa, and Hisayuki Matsuo at the National Cardiovascular Center in Osaka in 1985, named for its uterus-stimulating activity but now best characterized as an anorectic feeding-suppressing neuropeptide acting at NMUR1 (peripheral) and NMUR2 (central, brain-enriched) receptors with additional roles in circadian rhythm, stress, immunity, and Th2 inflammation.

An endogenous analgesic dipeptide (L-tyrosyl-L-arginine) discovered in 1979 by Hiroshi Takagi's group at Kyoto University and named for the city, producing morphine-like analgesia in rodent models through a Met-enkephalin-releasing mechanism rather than direct opioid receptor binding — one of the smallest endogenous neuropeptides and an enduringly studied alternative-analgesic candidate.

An endogenous 20-amino-acid neuropeptide named for its highly conserved N-terminal serine residue, discovered by Xu, Reinscheid, and Civelli at UC Irvine in 2004 by reverse-pharmacology deorphanization of GPR154 (now NPSR1) — pharmacologically distinctive for producing simultaneous wakefulness/arousal AND anxiolytic effects, a combination that classical anxiolytics do not deliver, and the molecular substrate for the natural-short-sleeper NPSR1 mutation identified in human pedigrees.

A recently discovered (Yosten, Lyu, Hsueh, Samson 2013) endogenous neuropeptide derived from the small integral membrane protein 20 (SMIM20) precursor — biologically active in two forms (PNX-14 and PNX-20), signaling through the orphan receptor GPR173, and characterized as a positive regulator of GnRH/kisspeptin reproductive signaling with additional documented roles in anxiety, memory, cardiovascular function, food intake, and thirst.

A synthetic peptide analog of ACTH(4-10) developed in Russia, studied for cognitive enhancement and neuroprotection.

A synthetic peptide analog of tuftsin with anxiolytic and nootropic properties, developed in Russia.

An enhanced version of Selank with improved stability, studied for anxiety reduction and cognitive enhancement.

A naturally occurring neuropeptide that modulates sleep patterns and has been studied for insomnia and stress.

A neuropeptide that regulates wakefulness, arousal, and appetite. Its deficiency causes narcolepsy.

A synthetic peptide derived from sortilin that acts as a TREK-1 channel blocker, studied as a rapid-acting antidepressant alternative.

A low-molecular-weight dimeric dipeptide mimetic of the fourth loop of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), designed at the Zakusov Institute in Moscow and studied preclinically as an antidepressant and neuroprotective agent.

The natural-extract pineal-tissue polypeptide preparation that preceded synthetic Epitalon (KEDG) in the Khavinson program. Anisimov's 1998 Mech Ageing Dev paper reported lifespan extension of fruit flies, mice, and rats by Epithalamin — one of the most-cited Russian-tradition peptide aging studies. Distinct from synthetic Epitalon: Epithalamin is the older complex polypeptide preparation, Epitalon is the chemically defined tetrapeptide identified as a key active component.