Studies suggest that a synthetic analog of ghrelin, the peptide Hexarelin, may promote the synthesis of growth hormone. Since Hexarelin may enhance lean mass by stimulating growth hormone synthesis, it has garnered considerable attention as a potential tool for improving body composition. Researchers have speculated that Hexarelin peptide may also exhibit neuroprotective and cardioprotective potential.
In the 1980s, a group of researchers from Tulane Medical School set out to design a growth hormone secretagogue (GHS) that would not lead to the unintended rise of sex hormones, insulin, or glucagon. It is hypothesized they have succeeded with Hexarelin.
Results implied that Hexarelin's potential on pituitary growth hormone stimulation may be longer-lasting than those of similar bigger peptides, that research rats appeared to have gained weight, and that desensitization at the receptor site seemed avoided.
Scientists' ongoing investigation of Hexarelin peptides is beginning to surface properties unconnected to growth hormone secretion. Researchers have hypothesized that Hexarelin may potentially exert neuroprotective action; it is speculated to reduce inflammation in the brain, protect cells from injury and death, and boost neurogenesis in the hippocampus.
Another intriguing feature is the peptide's alleged capacity tosafeguard the heart. Data suggests it may improve cardiac output, lessen the severity of heart damage caused by ischemia episodes, and potentially enhance the efficiency of cardiac muscle contractions.
Hexarelin Peptide: What Is It?
Research indicates that despite Hexarelin's many possible impacts, its high growth hormone-stimulating potential may be the compound's biggest selling point.
The organism produces less growth hormone over time. There is a lot of interest in finding a better way to restore growth hormone levels using chemicals like Hexarelin. Growth hormones are involved in many functions, including making collagen, repairing muscles, maintaining bone density, and regulating the distribution and storage of fat cells.
Hexarelin Peptide and Recovery
Investigations purport that Hexarelin may facilitate growth hormones to enhance the healing process of muscles, tendons, and bones after trauma or strenuous activity. Quick tissue healing increases physical activity intensities and volumes without causing undue weariness or muscle harm.
Recovery also depends on sleep quality. One potential cause of disturbed sleep is a deficiency of circulating growth hormone. Scientists speculate that deeper, more rejuvenating sleep, brought about by Hexarelin's influence on growth hormone release, may be invaluable for enhancing strength and body composition.
Hexarelin Peptide and Fat Cells
Several factors contribute to obesity, but insulin resistance is a primary factor. Insulin sensitivity was examined in a 2017 Nutrition & Diabetes study that compared two groups, overweight and lean. The lean were predictably insulin resistant, in contrast to the weight maintenance group, whose insulin sensitivity was comparable to that of the control group.
Research has theorized that Hexarelin may improve metabolic rate and body composition by increasing insulin sensitivity, reducing fat cell storage, enhancing lean mass, and decreasing blood triglycerides. Thus, it might enhance efficient food partitioning.
Hexarelin Peptide and the Heart
In the past, cardiac research examined the impacts of exogenous ghrelin. Though ghrelin is a naturally occurring peptide, its impacts are believed to be fleeting as it degrades quickly.
With more valuable cardiac impacts, a longer half-life, potentially more potency than exogenous ghrelin, the synthetic hexapeptide Hexarelin is hypothesized to be the better choice. Hexarelin seems to reduce cardiac fibrosis and hypertrophy, reverse atherosclerosis, and enhance long-term cardiac function in chronic heart failure research.
Hexarelin Peptide Potential
Many successful clinical studies have been conducted on Hexarelin, all of which are accessible for examination. Here, we review a few of the most important investigations.
Research conducted by Sirago et al. (2017) examined the possibility of growth hormone secretagogues in reducing cachexia, the severe loss of muscle often seen in cancer research models after chemotherapy. Hexarelin was suggested to have this effect.
To mimic harmful bioindicators often associated with cancer, the researchers in the study gave rats a chemotherapeutic substance. Subsequently, the rats were assigned to one of three groups: one that got Hexarelin, one that did not, and a third that received JMV2894, an additional GHS.
The findings implied that the control group appeared to have had mitochondrial dysfunction and muscle atrophy due to the chemotherapeutic substance. In contrast, the groups presented with GHS suggested remarkable resistance to muscle atrophy and strength loss. According to the study's authors, Hexarelin appeared to regulate cell turnover to keep muscle mass functional, improve mitochondrial functioning, and decrease inflammatory processes.
In addition to promoting growth hormone secretion, Hexarelin has been theorized to enhance fat metabolism via its activity at the CD36 scavenger receptor, making it a research candidate in weight studies.
Canadian researchers studied Hexarelin's potential on adipocytes in mouse white fat cell cultures to test the compound's fat-burning potential. Through its activity at CD36, Hexarelin seemed to have reduced triglyceride buildup in cells while enhancing ATP-related energy generation in related genes and raising gene expression in fat metabolism.
Investigations purport that the Hexarelin action on lipolysis may have promise for weight reduction research, as white fat cells store the vast majority of body fat.
Hexarelin Peptide and the Brain
Neuroblastoma cells are the hallmark of the neurodegenerative illness amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Death, paralysis, and a loss of motor function are symptoms of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), which causes neuronal apoptosis in many parts of the neurological system.
Researchers presented mutant cells with Hexarelin and JMV2894 in a 2023 trial in quest of a potential GHS-based approach for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Meanti et al. (2023) included Hexarelin in the experiment to reduce cytotoxic inflammation and slow or reverse cell death due to the peptide's speculated cytoprotective and anti-inflammatory characteristics.
According to the research, Hexarelin appeared to have enhanced mutant cell death and boosted cell survival. These findings suggest significant potential for future Hexarelin research applications. In contrast, more research is necessary to fully understand the mechanism by which growth hormone secretagogues may aid in the context of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
Visit the Core Peptides website for more educational articles about peptides.
References
[i] Mosa, R. M., Zhang, Z., Shao, R., Deng, C., Chen, J., & Chen, C. (2015). Implications of Ghrelin and Hexarelin in Diabetes and Diabetes-Associated Heart Diseases. Endocrine, 49(2), 307–323. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12020-015-0531-z.
[ii] Bowers, C.,Momany, F., Reynolds, G.,Hong, A. (1984). On the in Vitro and in Vivo Activity of a New Synthetic Hexapeptide that Acts on the Pituitary to Specifically Release Growth Hormone. Endocrinology, 11(5), 1537–1545. https://doi.org/10.1210/endo-114-5-1537
[iii] Meanti, R., Licata, M., Rizzi, L., Bresciani, E., Molteni, L., Coco, S., Locatelli, V., Omeljaniuk, R. J., & Torsello, A. (2023). Protective Effects of Hexarelin and JMV2894 in a Human Neuroblastoma Cell Line Expressing the SOD1-G93A Mutated Protein. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 24(2), 993. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24020993
[iv] Mao, Y., Tokudome, T., & Kishimoto, I. (2014). The Cardiovascular Action of Hexarelin. Journal of Geriatric Cardiology, 11(3), 253–258. https://doi.org/10.11909/j.issn.1671-5411.2014.03.007
[v] Rahim, A., O'Neill, P. A., & Shalet, S. M. (1998). Growth Hormone Status During Long-Term Hexarelin Therapy. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology And Metabolism, 83(5), 1644–1649. https://doi.org/10.1210/jcem.83.5.4812.
[vi] Bartke A. (2019). Growth Hormone and Aging: Updated Review. The World Journal of Men's Health, 37(1), 19–30. https://doi.org/10.5534/wjmh.180018
[vii] Doessing, S., Heinemeier, K. M., Holm, L., Mackey, A. L., Schjerling, P., Rennie, M., Smith, K., Reitelseder, S., Kappelgaard, A. M., Rasmussen, M. H., Flyvbjerg, A., & Kjaer, M. (2010). Growth Hormone Stimulates the Collagen Synthesis in Human Tendon and Skeletal Muscle Without Affecting Myofibrillar Protein Synthesis. The Journal of Physiology, 588(2), 341–351. https://doi.org/10.1113/jphysiol.2009.179325.
[viii] Kopchick, J. J., Berryman, D. E., Puri, V., Lee, K. Y., & Jorgensen, J. O. L. (2020). The Effects of Growth Hormone on Adipose Tissue: Old Observations, New Mechanisms. Nature Reviews. Endocrinology, 16(3), 135–146. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41574-019-0280-9
[ix] Kraemer, W. J., Ratamess, N. A., & Nindl, B. C. (2017). Recovery Responses of Testosterone, Growth Hormone, and IGF-1 After Resistance Exercise. Journal of Applied Physiology, 122(3), 549–558. https://doi.org/10.1152/japplphysiol.00599.2016.
[x] Vyazovskiy V. V. (2015). Sleep, Recovery, And Metaregulation: Explaining the Benefits of Sleep. Nature And Science of Sleep, 7, 171–184. https://doi.org/10.2147/NSS.S54036