Peptide Education

The ‘love hormone’ promised to improve social behavior, autism and even obesity. When the large trials came, the main effects were not confirmed. A case study in how to read peptide evidence.

The human kisspeptin studies are among the best in the peptide field. Almost all of them used single doses of kisspeptin-54 under monitoring. What circulates on the market is something else.

Before its approval for women, bremelanotide was studied in men with erectile dysfunction, including sildenafil non-responders. What those trials showed, how it acts on MC4R and where the evidence ends.

Both act on melanocortin receptors. One went through phase 3 and is approved. The other is sold for tanning, with a growing file of case reports on new moles and melanomas.

Semaglutide at 7.7% purity. Arsenic and lead. Bacteria. Growth hormone with less than the label says. What studies found when they tested peptides bought outside the regulated supply chain.

A purity number on a certificate tells you less than it seems. What HPLC, mass spectrometry, content, water, endotoxin and solvent results measure, and what none of them can.

Moisture, temperature, light, pH, surfaces and agitation degrade peptides in known ways. The labels of approved peptides show how to handle a vial once it is reconstituted.

At a longevity festival in Las Vegas, two attendees received peptide blends at a booth. One reached the hospital already intubated. Fines came seven months later, but the vials were never tested.

WADA bans BPC-157, TB-500, GHRP-2, GHRP-6, CJC-1295, ipamorelin and MK-677. Several sanctioned athletes said a doctor recommended them. No therapeutic use exemption is possible for BPC-157.

The advisory committee voted for six of seven peptides. FDA scientists had recommended none. What the briefing documents say, peptide by peptide, and why nothing has changed yet.

Seven in ten Panamanian adults have overweight or obesity. GLP-1 trials show double-digit weight loss. Panama’s ministry is investigating Ozempic for weight loss. The clash will look familiar.

Pens filled with insulin instead of semaglutide, a counterfeit Mounjaro lot and 56 counterfeit-medicine alerts since 2024. What happened in Panama, and why US clinics should care.