Semax: research

A Russian nasal peptide with limited human evidence for brain and nerve effects.

Also called: Семакс, ACTH(4–7)-PGP, MEHFPGP.

Nootropic peptides · ACTH-fragment analogue studied for brain and nerve effects.

25 human reports may include repeated participants. People often knew which treatment they received, and comparison and safety details are limited.

Studies

• Acute stroke: 12 or 18 mg. cohort, n=110, Adults with acute hemispheric ischemic stroke. A small nonrandomized comparison reported faster recovery. (source)
• Stroke inflammation markers. cohort, People in the acute phase of ischemic stroke. A biomarker report does not establish better stroke outcomes. (source)
• After oxygen-related brain injury. case-series, n=73, Remote posthypoxic encephalopathy; 14 people had a persistent vegetative state. Memory changes were reported, with a concerning EEG signal. (source)
• Optic nerve disease. cohort, Vascular, toxic-allergic or inflammatory optic nerve disease and partial optic atrophy. A three-group report suggested visual improvement. (source)
• Glaucoma with controlled pressure. cohort, Glaucoma with normalized eye pressure. Combination care does not isolate the peptide effect. (source)
• Refractory stomach ulcers. cohort, n=32, Adults with refractory peptic ulcers. Ulcer healing favored the added peptide in a small comparison. (source)
• Chronic brain circulation problems. cohort, n=187, Patients at different stages of cerebrovascular insufficiency. A 187-person report lacks extractable stroke-event numbers. (source)
• Motor neuron disease: 12 mg. open-label, n=27, Definite, probable or possible motor neuron disease. Function did not improve; reported benefit concerned quality of life. (source)
• Diabetic retinal disease. cohort, n=114, Adults aged 42–70 with nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy. A rehabilitation report needs a better controlled test. (source)
• Psoriasis and metabolic syndrome. cohort, n=118, People with psoriasis and metabolic syndrome. The Russian paper resolves a 1000-fold English dose-unit error. (source)
• Stroke rehabilitation: 6 mg. cohort, n=110, Patients in early or late rehabilitation after ischemic stroke. An association with recovery does not establish a treatment effect. (source)
• Healthy volunteers: brain imaging. cohort, n=24, Healthy adult volunteers. A brain-imaging change is not proof of better cognition. (source)
• Selank or Semax: brain connections. cohort, n=52, Healthy volunteers given Selank, Semax or placebo. The study tested separate drugs, not a Semax–Selank stack. (source)
• Optic nerve rehabilitation. cohort, n=60, Vascular optic neuropathy. Several simultaneous treatments prevent attribution to Semax. (source)
• After retinal detachment surgery. cohort, n=42, Adults after macula-off retinal detachment surgery. This compared a rehabilitation bundle with nasal Semax. (source)
• After glaucoma surgery. cohort, n=50, Stage II–III primary open-angle glaucoma. Surgery and several therapies confound the peptide contribution. (source)
• Early hypoxia report. case-series, Human and rat hypoxia experiments. An indexed human report exists, but results could not be extracted. (source)
• Early EEG report. case-series, Human EEG research. An indexed human report exists, but results could not be extracted. (source)
• Migraine and facial pain. case-series, n=37, 12 adults with migraine, 16 with trigeminal neuralgia, nine with dental plexalgia. An uncontrolled pain series had mixed outcomes. (source)
• Early attention study. cohort, n=19, Healthy adult men. Early task findings have not established a reliable focus benefit. (source)
• Brain ischemia and blood clotting. case-series, Chronic ischemic brain disease; animal experiments also included. An unresolved dose unit prevents a usable protocol. (source)
• Chernobyl-related cognitive symptoms. case-series, Patients described as Chernobyl patients. A congress record was located, but the study could not be fully extracted. (source)
• Children with tics. cohort, n=331, Children with tics or Tourette syndrome. A pediatric conference report cannot establish an adult dose. (source)
• Children with depression. cohort, n=120, Children aged 12–14 with depression. A conference report describes combined treatment with limited detail. (source)
• COVID smell loss: patent report. rct, n=80, Adults with COVID-19 and smell loss. A patent reports faster smell recovery; a peer-reviewed account was not found. (source)
• BDNF signals in rats. animal, Rats. Semax changed BDNF and trkB signals in rats. (source)
• Dopamine and stimulants. animal, Rodents. Semax changed monoamine signals and amplified amphetamine responses in rodents. (source)
• Enkephalin breakdown assay. in-vitro, Human serum in a laboratory. Both peptides inhibited enkephalin-degrading enzymes in a laboratory assay. (source)
• Identity of seized powders. in-vitro, Two seized preparations; laboratory analysis. Mass spectrometry identified Selank and Semax in seized preparations. (source)

Gaps: Human-study counts are identified reports, not a proven count of independent trials; some cohorts may overlap. No FDA or EMA label was found. Russian instructions are classified as clinical-practice by the KB policy. Russian registration was updated in 2025, but the full current government-approved instruction could not be retrieved. Older Russian instructions and current packs may differ in dosing and storage. Do not merge those versions. No completed interventional ClinicalTrials.gov record for these compounds was identified. A name search also returns irrelevant records. No Cochrane review or high-quality compound-specific meta-analysis was located. Long-term exposure, rare harms, pregnancy, lactation and conception washout periods are unknown. No verified human subcutaneous dosing trial, validated mixing method or after-mixing shelf life was found. Community frequency labels describe this search, not measured population prevalence. nMentions is used only for explicitly counted posters. No representative market survey established identity, amount, sterility or endotoxin quality for online products. No routine lab panel or evidence-based schedule for monitoring community use has been validated. WADA names neither peptide explicitly. Russian therapeutic registration complicates an automatic S0 classification. National EU status, UK import rules and broad Australian scheduling coverage remain unresolved. Chemical identity, HPLC purity, vial amount, microbial quality and endotoxin testing answer different questions. Some older human reports had no accessible abstract; their study-design category is provisional. The 1997 stroke comparison is nonrandomized. The 2008 motor-neuron abstract describes open treatment despite its RCT index tag. The 2015 psoriasis English abstract says 600 mg/day; original Russian text says 600 mcg/day. Only the latter enters protocols. The 2002 clotting abstract is quoted by FDA as 600 mg/day. Its original unit was not verified; no protocol or studied ceiling uses it. The 0.5 mg/kg pain dose is from FDA extraction of an inaccessible original; it is a single dose, not a repeated-dose maximum. The 2018 and 2020 imaging reports may reuse participants. Neither tested lasting cognitive benefit or combined Semax–Selank use. A COVID smell-loss trial is disclosed in a patent. A peer-reviewed outcome paper and exact registry linkage were not located. Historical Russian vascular and optic schedules contain inconsistent dose-range and drop-count arithmetic. The highest verified repeated human-trial daily total located was 18 mg intranasally in acute stroke, not healthy-adult focus use. July 2026 PCAC backing is reported by BMJ. Official vote minutes and a final rule authorizing Semax were not located. FDA found one consumer eye-pain report requiring hospitalization. Causality and incidence cannot be inferred.

Related to Semax

• Selank: A Russian nasal anxiety peptide with uncertain long-term benefit and safety.
• PE-22-28: An experimental mood peptide studied in mice, with no human trials found.
• Dihexa: An experimental memory compound with disputed animal research and no established human dose.
• P21: An experimental memory peptide with animal research and no established human dose or safety profile.
• Cerebrolysin: An injectable pig brain mixture with mixed stroke, brain-injury and dementia evidence.

Semax: the short version

Sources

• 503B Bulk Drug Substances List, FDA · FDA · 2026
• Bulk Drug Substances Nominated for Use in Compounding Under Section 503A of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, FDA · FDA · 2026
• Certain Bulk Drug Substances for Use in Compounding that May Present Significant Safety Risks, FDA · FDA · 2026
• Federal Register: nonbinding draft HHS interim policy, October 30 2026, 2026
• HHS 503A peptide interim enforcement policy and conditions, October 30 2026, 2026
• July 23-24, 2026: Meeting of the Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee - 07/23/2026, FDA · FDA · 2026
• MHRA Products | Home, MHRA · MHRA · 2026
• The Prohibited List, World Anti-Doping Agency · World Anti-Doping Agency · 2026
• Therapeutic Goods (Poisons Standard—October 2026) Instrument 2026, Australian Government · Australian Government · 2026
• Think twice before injecting peptides bought online: unauthorized products can seriously harm you, Health Canada · Health Canada · 2026
• Anaphylaxis, NHS · NHS · 2023
• Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG), Therapeutic Goods Administration · TGA
• Search, European Medicines Agency
• Semax-Related Bulk Drug Substances: Semax (Free Base) and Semax Acetate
• Symptoms of a stroke

Sources checked: 2026-10-18.

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