Skip to main content
onlinesermorelin

An inquiry into combinations

Studies and status documents

The original comparison, the clinical histories and the documents that govern very different kinds of use.

Original interaction study

The Bowers GHRH + GHRP-6 paper is the source for the interaction at the center of this site. The secretagogue history and pharmacology review offers the broader context. I favor the original comparison as an entry point because it lets each ingredient be heard separately before the pair.

Childhood cohorts; adult experiments

The multicenter childhood growth trial and the review of pediatric sermorelin cover the former treatment setting. The idiopathic short-stature study concerns a different pediatric population.

For adults, there are the Corpas hormone study, the Nle27 GHRH study in older women and men and the tesamorelin cognition trial. The titles deserve close attention: these entries involve different preparations and different outcomes.

Safety and biological context

The pediatric antibody findings, the longer childhood cohort and the PEG-conjugated GHRH tolerability study supply particulars that a general safety description misses. The GHRH biology review and the critical editorial on aging claims approach the wider questions from different directions.

Approval, pharmacy policy and sport

The FDA withdrawal determination concerns the former approved products. The interim 503A policy concerns compounding. The WADA list governs sport. Each document has a narrower jurisdiction than the phrase “legal sermorelin” suggests.

The source register follows. Some entries revisit a single review for a different part of the subject; they should be understood as different uses of that review rather than additional trials.

Sources

  1. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Determination That GEREF (Sermorelin Acetate) Injection, 0.5 Milligrams Base/Vial and 1.0 Milligrams Base/Vial, and GEREF (Sermorelin Acetate) Injection, 0.05 Milligrams Base/Amp, Were Not Withdrawn From Sale for Reasons of Safety or Effectiveness. Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 42. 2013. ↗
  2. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Determination That GEREF (Sermorelin Acetate) Injection Was Not Withdrawn From Sale for Reasons of Safety or Effectiveness. Federal Register. 2013. ↗
  3. Prakash A, Goa KL. Sermorelin: a review of its use in the diagnosis and treatment of children with idiopathic growth hormone deficiency. BioDrugs. 1999;12(2):139-157. ↗
  4. Prakash A, Goa KL. Sermorelin: a review of its use in the diagnosis and treatment of children with idiopathic growth hormone deficiency (diagnostic-test review section). BioDrugs. 1999;12(2):139-157. ↗
  5. Kirk JM, Trainer PJ, Majrowski WH, Murphy J, Savage MO, Besser GM. Treatment with GHRH(1-29)NH2 in children with idiopathic short stature induces a sustained increase in growth velocity. Clinical Endocrinology. 1994;41(4):487-493. ↗
  6. Khorram O, Laughlin GA, Yen SS. Endocrine and metabolic effects of long-term administration of [Nle27]growth hormone-releasing hormone-(1-29)-NH2 in age-advanced men and women. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. 1997;82(5):1472-1479. ↗
  7. Vittone J, Blackman MR, Busby-Whitehead J, Tsiao C, Stewart KJ, Tobin J, Stevens T, Bellantoni MF, Rogers MA, Baumann G, Roth J, Harman SM, Spencer RG. Effects of single nightly injections of growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH 1-29) in healthy elderly men. Metabolism: Clinical and Experimental. 1997;46(1):89-96. ↗
  8. Smith PJ, Brook CGD, Rivier J, Vale W, Thorner MO. Continuous subcutaneous GHRH(1-29)NH2 promotes growth hormone secretion and growth in children with growth hormone deficiency. Clinical Endocrinology. 1986;25(1):35-44. ↗
  9. Bowers CY, Reynolds GA, Durham D, Barrera CM, Pezzoli SS, Thorner MO. Combined administration of GHRH and GHRP-6 acts in synergy on growth hormone (GH) release in humans. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. 1990;70(4):975-982. ↗
  10. Prakash A, Goa KL. Sermorelin: a review of its use in the diagnosis and treatment of children with idiopathic growth hormone deficiency (pharmacokinetics section). BioDrugs. 1999;12(2):139-157. ↗
  11. Aimaretti G, Baffoni C, DiVito L, Bellone S, Grottoli S, Maccario M, Arvat E, Camanni F, Ghigo E. Growth hormone-releasing hormone combined with arginine or growth hormone secretagogues for the diagnosis of growth hormone deficiency in adults. European Journal of Endocrinology. 2001;145(4):369-376. ↗
  12. Prakash A, Goa KL. Sermorelin: a review of its use in the diagnosis and treatment of children with idiopathic growth hormone deficiency (safety profile section). BioDrugs. 1999;12(2):139-157. ↗
  13. World Anti-Doping Agency. World Anti-Doping Code International Standard — The 2025 Prohibited List. ↗
  14. Baker LD, Barsness SM, Borson S, Merriam GR, Friedman SD, Craft S, Vitiello MV. Effects of growth hormone-releasing hormone on cognitive function in adults with mild cognitive impairment and healthy older adults: results of a controlled trial. Archives of Neurology. 2012;69(11):1420-1429. ↗
  15. Steiger A, Guldner J, Hemmeter U, et al. Growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) and sleep regulation. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 1992;17(2-3):125-137. ↗
  16. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Interim Policy on Compounding Using Bulk Drug Substances Under Section 503A of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act; Guidance for Industry. Federal Register. 2025. ↗
  17. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. October 29, 2024 Meeting of the Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee — Briefing Materials. FDA Briefing Materials. 2024. ↗
  18. Thomas A, Walpurgis K, Tretzel L, Brinkkotter P, Fussholler G, Gorgens C, Geyer H, Thevis M. Chromatographic-mass spectrometric analysis of peptidic analytes (2-10 kDa) in doping control urine samples. Journal of Mass Spectrometry. 2024. ↗
  19. Ishida J, Saitoh M, Ebner N, Springer J, Anker SD, von Haehling S. Growth hormone secretagogues: history, mechanism of action, and clinical development. JCSM Rapid Communications. 2020;3(1):25-37. ↗
  20. Blackman MR. Use of growth hormone secretagogues to prevent or treat the effects of aging: not yet ready for prime time. Annals of Internal Medicine. 2008;149(9):677-679. ↗
  21. Granata R, Leone S, Zhang X, Gesmundo I, Steenblock C, Cai R, Sha W, Ghigo E, Hare JM, Bornstein SR, Schally AV. Growth hormone-releasing hormone and its analogues in health and disease. Nature Reviews Endocrinology. 2025;21(3):180-195. ↗
  22. Thorner M, Rochiccioli P, Colle M, Lanes R, Grunt J, Galazka A, Landy H, Eengrand P, Shah S. Once daily subcutaneous growth hormone-releasing hormone therapy accelerates growth in growth hormone-deficient children during the first year of therapy. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. 1996;81(3):1189-1196. ↗
  23. Corpas E, Harman SM, Pineyro MA, Roberson R, Blackman MR. Growth hormone (GH)-releasing hormone-(1-29) twice daily reverses the decreased GH and insulin-like growth factor-I levels in old men. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. 1992;75(2):530-535. ↗
  24. A comparative study of growth hormone (GH) and GH-releasing hormone(1-29)-NH2 for the treatment of children with idiopathic GH deficiency. Acta Paediatrica Supplement. 1993. ↗
  25. Khorram O, Laughlin GA, Yen SS. Endocrine and metabolic effects of long-term administration of [Nle27]growth hormone-releasing hormone-(1-29)-NH2 in age-advanced men and women. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. 1997;82(5):3590-3596. ↗
  26. Maa M, et al. Polyethylene glycol-conjugated growth hormone-releasing hormone is long acting and stimulates GH release with preservation of pulsatility. European Journal of Endocrinology. 2005;153(1):15-22. ↗
  27. Balber T, et al. Long-term therapy with a single daily subcutaneous dose of growth hormone releasing factor in children with growth hormone deficiency. Journal of Pediatric Endocrinology and Metabolism. 1994;7(4):303-313. ↗
  28. Hindmarsh P, et al. Effects of acute intravenous injection of two growth hormone-releasing hormones on pituitary hormone secretion in short children. Hormone Research. 1989;31(1-2):33-38. ↗
  29. Smith PJ, et al. Growth hormone (GH) profiles in response to continuous subcutaneous infusion of GH-releasing hormone in children with GH deficiency. Acta Paediatrica Supplement. 1993. ↗
  30. Pedersen L, et al. A new era of doping? Use of peptide and peptide-analog drugs in recreational and competitive athletes. Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness. 2026. ↗
  31. Dhurat R, et al. Safety and Efficacy of Approved and Unapproved Peptide Therapies for Musculoskeletal Conditions: A Systematic Review. Sports Medicine. 2026. ↗
  32. Thomas A, et al. Advances in the detection of growth hormone releasing hormone synthetic analogs. Drug Testing and Analysis. 2021. ↗
  33. Prakash A, Goa KL. Sermorelin: a review of its use in the diagnosis and treatment of children with idiopathic growth hormone deficiency. BioDrugs. 1999;12(2):139-157. ↗
  34. Popovic V, et al. Clinical review: Is lack of recombinant growth hormone (GH)-releasing hormone in the United States a setback or a blessing in disguise? Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. 2009;94(8):2756-2761. ↗
  35. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Interim Policy on Compounding Using Bulk Drug Substances Under Section 503A of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act; Guidance for Industry. 2025. ↗