ACTH analog comes up often in conversation and rarely with the context attached. Here we lay out the basics in order, then work through the practical considerations.
Last reviewed on 2025-10-27. Where a claim depends on a specific study, the study is described rather than over-claimed.
Russian regulatory authorities approved the peptide for nasal administration, and it remains listed in the national pharmacopoeia under several trade names. Documented indications include acute ischemic stroke, transient ischemic attacks, traumatic brain injury, and certain ophthalmological and neurological conditions. Physicians also prescribe it for cognitive complaints in older patients, although the evidence base for that use is thinner. Outside Russia and a few neighboring states, the substance is not an approved medicine and is sold instead as a research chemical.
Later generations of the molecule include an N-acetylated form and an amidated form, both marketed online alongside the parent peptide. These variants differ in terminal chemistry and stability, and they are frequently discussed in the same breath even though they have not been compared in controlled trials. Supply outside formal healthcare systems comes largely from laboratories that synthesize peptides to order. Purity and identity of these materials vary widely, and no single body oversees the international trade.
Semax is a synthetic heptapeptide developed in the Soviet Union during the 1980s by researchers at the Institute of Molecular Genetics in Moscow. It was designed as a truncated analog of adrenocorticotropic hormone, retaining only the fragment spanning residues four through ten. Investigators sought a peptide that would preserve the cognitive effects associated with ACTH while eliminating the hormonal stimulation of the adrenal cortex. The compound entered clinical use in Russia during the following decade.
Semax is a synthetic heptapeptide with the sequence Met-Glu-His-Phe-Pro-Gly-Pro. It was derived from the ACTH(4-10) fragment, a short segment of adrenocorticotropic hormone that lacks the hormonal activity associated with the full-length peptide. Researchers at the Institute of Molecular Genetics in Moscow developed the compound during the 1980s. It has been registered as a pharmaceutical product in Russia and several neighbouring countries, where it is supplied as a nasal solution, and it is also sold internationally as a research chemical.
The proposed mechanism centres on neurotrophic signalling rather than direct receptor activation. Semax is reported to increase expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor and nerve growth factor in several brain regions, and to shift the balance between excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitter systems. Interaction with melanocortin receptors has been suggested because of the parent ACTH fragment. Many of these findings come from rodent studies, and the extent to which they translate to human physiology remains an open question.
Scientific literature on semax is unevenly distributed. A substantial share of published work originates from a small number of laboratories in Russia, while independent replication elsewhere is limited. Human data consist mostly of small trials with short follow-up, and several reported outcomes rely on subjective rating scales. Questions about how much intact peptide reaches the central nervous system after nasal administration, and how long it persists there, are still unresolved. The compound is best described as an active research subject rather than a settled pharmacological agent.
| Property | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Molecular class | Synthetic heptapeptide | Analog of an ACTH fragment |
| Amino acid length | Seven residues | Met-Glu-His-Phe-Pro-Gly-Pro |
| Origin | Moscow, 1980s | Institute of Molecular Genetics |
| Approved regions | Russia and some neighboring states | Not cleared in Western markets |
| Common trade names | Multiple national brands | Sold as a nasal formulation |
Semax is a synthetic heptapeptide with the sequence Met-Glu-His-Phe-Pro-Gly-Pro. Its design combines the ACTH(4-7) core fragment with a C-terminal Pro-Gly-Pro extension, a modification intended to improve stability and prolong activity. The molecule is hydrophilic, carries no lipid chains or glycosylation, and has a theoretical mass just over 810 daltons in its free form. All seven residues are proteinogenic amino acids, so no non-natural building blocks appear in the backbone. A free N-terminal methionine and C-terminal proline define the unmodified parent peptide.
The compound was developed during the 1980s at the Institute of Molecular Genetics in Moscow as part of research on fragments of adrenocorticotropic hormone. Early work examined short ACTH-derived sequences that retained neurotrophic effects while lacking the endocrine activity of the full hormone. Semax entered clinical use in Russia during the 1990s, where it received registration for several neurological indications. Outside that region it remained primarily a laboratory research material rather than an approved therapeutic. English-language literature on it grew more slowly and frequently cited the original Russian studies.
Terminology around the compound varies by source. It appears in catalogues and papers as Semax, as the heptapeptide ACTH(4-7)-Pro-Gly-Pro, and under various alphanumeric laboratory codes used by individual suppliers. These names refer to the same sequence but may imply different salt forms, purity grades, or counter-ions. Peptide databases usually list the free base mass, while product descriptions sometimes report acetate or trifluoroacetate salts with a different formula weight. Because naming conventions for research peptides are not standardised across vendors, checking the declared sequence and measured mass is more reliable than relying on a trade name alone.
当时的短肽研究普遍关注能否穿越血脑屏障、在低剂量下产生中枢效应，Semax 属于这一路线。鼻内给药是其主要使用方式，俄语文献报道的适应症涵盖缺血性卒中、短暂性脑缺血发作、认知功能减退以及视神经病变。这些研究大多发表在当地期刊上，样本规模与终点设置同西方试验惯例存在差异，国际同行对其临床证据的强度看法不一。
各国监管态度分化明显。俄罗斯按处方药管理，部分东欧国家留有使用记录；欧盟与美国未批准其作为药物上市，市面流通品通常标注为研究用化学品。身份差异意味着标示含量、纯度与无菌性缺少统一核查。体育领域还牵涉反兴奋剂名录，跨境携带则受目的地药品法规约束。
Semax is a synthetic peptide created in the Soviet Union during the early 1980s by researchers working in Moscow. It was built from the short adrenocorticotropic hormone fragment known as ACTH(4-10), and the chain was then extended with three additional amino acids. The resulting molecule was named semax and entered clinical use in Russia in 1994. It is generally described as a nootropic and neuroprotective agent rather than as a hormone analogue.
The parent fragment ACTH(4-10) carries the sequence Met-Glu-His-Phe-Arg-Trp-Gly. Semax replaces the arginine and tryptophan positions with a proline-glycine-proline tail, giving Met-Glu-His-Phe-Pro-Gly-Pro. That change removes residues associated with adrenal stimulation, so the peptide does not drive cortisol release the way full ACTH does. This distinction shapes how the compound is grouped in the literature, where it sits with neuropeptides and peptide neuromodulators rather than with corticosteroids.
Regulatory status varies sharply by country. Semax is registered for medical use in Russia, where it appears in formularies as a nasal solution, and it also holds registration in a small number of neighbouring states. It has no approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration or the European Medicines Agency, and it is not a scheduled controlled substance in most jurisdictions. Elsewhere it circulates mainly as laboratory material, so purity documentation comes from suppliers rather than from a national pharmacopoeia.
=== Contraindications === The use of levosimendan is contraindicated in patients with moderate-to-severe kidney impairment, severe liver impairment, severe ventricular filling or outflow obstruction, very low blood pressure and fast heart rate, and/or history of the abnormal heart rhythm torsades de pointes.
===== Secondary infection ===== While a primary infection can practically be viewed as the root cause of an individual's current health problem, a secondary infection is a sequela or complication of that root cause. For example, an infection due to a burn or penetrating trauma (the root cause) is a secondary infection. Primary pathogens often cause primary infection and often cause secondary infection. Usually, opportunistic infections are viewed as secondary infections (because immunodeficiency or injury was the predisposing factor).
He also accused the Russian military of laying mines targeting his personnel as they retreated. The governor of Russia's Bryansk Oblast claimed that Ukrainian forces shelled a village along the international border, destroying a house. Two people were reportedly killed and two others injured when Ukrainian forces shelled a road in Maslova Pristan, Belgorod Oblast, while the Freedom of Russia Legion claimed responsibility for an attack on the village of Novaya Tavolzhanka and claimed that Russian government forces had killed two civilians after mistaking their vehicle for that of the legion. Long-range drones hit two towns in Smolensk Oblast, while an explosion was reported in a forest in Kaluga Oblast. Officials claimed that buildings were damaged in Bryansk and Kursk by Ukrainian shelling and a nighttime drone attack. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Viktoria Abramchenko said Russia sowed winter crops for the year's harvest in the territories it annexed during the invasion, providing state support worth 3 billion rubles ($37.1 million) to farmers in the occupied regions and harvesting grain, beans and rapeseed on 1.3 million hectares. The Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley announced that Ukrainian soldiers had begun training in the use of M1 Abrams tanks pledged to Ukraine by the West. The United States approached Japan for supplies of TNT to be used in 155 mm caliber shells for Ukraine. According to Reuters, the Japanese government allowed the US government to purchase industrial TNT as it is not a military product.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Following trial and conviction at Wood Green Crown Court, Patrick Simms is sentenced to nine years in prison for the rape of a 15-year-old girl he committed after meeting the girl at a leisure centre in Hackney in 1987. 22 July – Seb Dance, the Deputy Mayor of London, confirms that day travelcards will be phased out for travel within London. 23 July – Newcastle's Northern Pride is forced to end early after heavy rain makes the festival site unsafe. 24 July – The Metropolitan Police announce that radical preacher Anjem Choudary has been charged with three terror offences. 25 July – Data published by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities indicates the number of homeless people to be at a 25-year high, with 105,000 households in England living in temporary accommodation, a figure that includes 131,000 children. Data released by the Metropolitan Police indicates that a 13-week campaign by Just Stop Oil has cost the force £7.7m to police. 26 July – The Court of Appeal overturns the 2004 conviction of Andrew Malkinson, convicted of a 2003 rape in Salford on unreliable evidence. 27 July – The UK government confirms that COVID-19-era licencing rules in England allowing pubs to sell takeaway drinks will end on 30 September. 28 July – The High Court rules that the planned extension of London's Ultra Low Emission Zone is lawful after rejecting a legal challenge from five Conservative-led local authorities.
== Mechanism == ATPase (also called FoF1-ATP Synthase) is a charge-transferring complex that catalyzes ATP to perform ATP synthesis by moving ions through the membrane. The coupling of ATP hydrolysis and transport is a chemical reaction in which a fixed number of solute molecules are transported for each ATP molecule hydrolyzed; for the Na+/K+ exchanger, this is three Na+ ions out of the cell and two K+ ions inside per ATP molecule hydrolyzed. Transmembrane ATPases make use of ATP's chemical potential energy by performing mechanical work: they transport solutes in the opposite direction of their thermodynamically preferred direction of movement—that is, from the side of the membrane with low concentration to the side with high concentration. This process is referred to as active transport. For instance, inhibiting vesicular H+-ATPases would result in a rise in the pH within vesicles and a drop in the pH of the cytoplasm. All of the ATPases share a common basic structure. Each rotary ATPase is composed of two major components: Fo/A0/V0 and F1/A1/V1. They are connected by 1-3 stalks to maintain stability, control rotation, and prevent them from rotating in the other direction. One stalk is utilized to transmit torque. The number of peripheral stalks is dependent on the type of ATPase: F-ATPases have one, A-ATPases have two, and V-ATPases have three. The F1 catalytic domain is located on the N-side (negative-side) of the membrane and is involved in the synthesis and degradation of ATP and is involved in oxidative phosphorylation.
== Personal life == In 1971, Parsons married Gretchen Burrell (née Gretchen Lisl Berrill) at his stepfather's New Orleans estate. Parsons and Burrell went to England, where they visited their friend Ric Grech. With the help of Grech and his friend Hank Wangford, Parsons stopped using heroin. In the summer of 1973, Parsons' Topanga Canyon home burned to the ground, the result of a stray cigarette. Nearly all of his possessions were destroyed with the exception of a guitar and a prized Jaguar. The fire proved to be the last straw in the relationship between Burrell and Parsons, who moved into a spare room in Kaufman's house. Parsons rekindled his relationship with Margaret Fisher, a high school sweetheart from Waycross. Parsons had one child, born to Nancy Ross in 1967, Polly Parsons.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
It originated at the Institute of Molecular Genetics in Moscow during the 1980s. The work was carried out by a Russian research group that specialized in peptide neuropharmacology.
It is registered as a medicine in Russia and has been used clinically there for decades. No regulatory agency in Western Europe or North America has approved it for any indication.
Semax corresponds to the four-to-ten fragment of adrenocorticotropic hormone. Because it omits the first three residues, it lacks the adrenal-stimulating action of the full hormone.
Semax is based on the ACTH(4-10) fragment, a seven-amino-acid segment of adrenocorticotropic hormone. The synthetic peptide retains the core sequence while removing regions associated with endocrine activity. This modification is intended to isolate effects on the nervous system.