Longevity

CJC-1295, ipamorelin, sermorelin, and tesamorelin all sit in the growth-hormone-secretagogue class. They are routinely confused for each other. Here is the mechanism, the human evidence on each, and the four separate regulatory files behind the shared label.

MOTs-C and Epitalon both get sold as longevity peptides. They face the FDA's PCAC review on consecutive days in July for completely different indications. Here is what their two very different evidence standards actually look like.

Mitochondrial-derived peptides are short signals encoded inside the mitochondrial genome — a class your textbooks didn't have ten years ago. Here is what they are, what the animal mechanism work shows, and where MOTs-c sits in the July 2026 FDA review.

Science-journalism overview of GHK-Cu — the copper-binding tripeptide studied for wound healing and skin biology, what the preclinical and clinical literature shows, and its regulatory position in 2026.

GHK-Cu shows up in every premium anti-ageing serum and on every injectable peptide menu. The foundational science is real, mostly from one researcher across forty years, and the one randomised human trial of GHK-Cu skincare found no objective benefit. Here is what the evidence actually says.

BPC-157 and GHK-Cu both get sold as tissue-repair peptides. They share almost nothing else — different parent molecules, different anatomical evidence, and only one of them is on the FDA's July 2026 review docket. Here is what the published data actually separates them on.

Sermorelin and tesamorelin hit the same pituitary receptor and pull the same upstream lever on growth hormone. One had two FDA approvals and lost them for business reasons. The other still has one, for a population almost no buyer belongs to. Same mechanism, different paperwork.

CJC-1295 and ipamorelin get sold side-by-side as the growth-hormone protocol — one lifts the baseline, the other adds the pulse. Two molecules, two different mechanisms, two human evidence files that almost don't overlap. Here is what the published data actually separates them on.

Epitalon is a four-amino-acid peptide studied for telomerase induction in cultured cells and lifespan in mice. The FDA is reviewing it on July 24 for an insomnia indication. Here's what the evidence actually shows.

Semax is sold as a nootropic and was developed in Russia as a stroke treatment. Here's what the structural precision requires, what the mechanism shows in animals, and why Russian stroke evidence is not Western nootropic evidence.

Selank has been used in Russian psychiatric practice for over a decade as an anxiolytic with no sedation and no dependence. Here's what the comparative trials show, why the Russian evidence base is real but limited, and what Western replication would need to look like.

Ipamorelin's selling point is what it doesn't do — no cortisol spike, no prolactin spike, just a clean ghrelin-receptor GH pulse. Here's what the animal work actually shows, why the one Phase 2 trial was null, and what that means for the stack marketing.

CJC-1295 is the long-acting GHRH analog the muscle-and-aging marketing keeps pointing at. Here's what's actually known, what the DAC-versus-no-DAC question hides, and why one well-run Phase 1 trial in 2006 is still doing all the work.

Sermorelin had a real FDA approval, lost it for business reasons, and lives on as the anti-aging clinic's GH peptide of choice. Here's what the human evidence actually shows, what gets quietly substituted in its name, and where the longevity case is honest.

MOTS-c is sold as exercise in a vial — a peptide that works the same pathways your body uses to get fit and stay young. Here is what the research actually shows, what the human evidence looks like, and where the July 2026 FDA review fits.

Selank and Semax get sold side-by-side as cognitive performance peptides. Neither was built for that. Here is what the actual evidence shows, where the Russian-literature replication gap sits, and how the July 2026 FDA review splits the two peptides apart.

AOD-9604 was built on a clean mechanistic premise — the fat-burning piece of growth hormone, isolated from the rest. The mouse work was real. The human Phase II results disappointed. The molecule pivoted to joints, then to muscle preservation in the GLP-1 era. Here is the actual story.

Thymosin Alpha-1 has the deepest human trial record of any peptide on the longevity menu, including a 2025 multicentre sepsis trial in BMJ. The populations studied are not the ones buying it. Here is what the evidence shows and where the regulatory line actually falls.

Science-journalism overview of CJC-1295, a synthetic GHRH analog studied for sustained growth hormone release — what animal and limited human data show, and its regulatory status in 2026.

Science-journalism overview of Epithalon (Epitalon) — the tetrapeptide studied for telomerase activation and anti-aging effects, its preclinical and limited human evidence base, and its position on the PCAC July 2026 docket.

An independent science-journalism review of ipamorelin research — how this selective GH secretagogue works, what the preclinical and limited clinical literature shows, and its current regulatory standing.

Science-journalism overview of MOTS-c — the mitochondrial-derived peptide studied for metabolic regulation and exercise mimicry, what the preclinical and early human data show, and its position on the PCAC July 23–24 2026 docket.

Science-journalism overview of sermorelin — the synthetic GHRH fragment with the most extensive clinical development history in the GH secretagogue class, its published human evidence, and its current regulatory standing.