What Does Sermorelin Do?

[01dragonslayer]

What Does Sermorelin Do?​

Sermorelin is one of the most widely tested and researched peptides in the world. According to Richard Walker, Ph.D., Sermorelin may offer a natural solution to the slow, but steady decline of growth hormone that we all experience as we age. This may not sound like much, but keep in mind that waning growth hormone levels have been linked to everything from lost muscle tone to increasing cardiovascular disease and dementia.

Dr. Walker, of the Duke University School of Medicine Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development, has studied sermorelin and growth hormone (GH) replacement for years. He likens sermorelin to the fountain of youth and has launched a number of trials to investigate its properties. As he points out, one of the benefits of sermorelin is that it is subject to normal feedback mechanisms in the body. This means it is safter to utilize sermorelin than GH. The way that sermorelin works makes it ideal for GH replacement according to Dr. Walker.

For those who are curious about why sermorelin is receiving so much research attention and are asking "what does sermorelin do,” the following is a summary of the scientific findings surrounding this remarkable peptide. Various sections take a look at the mechanism by which sermorelin works as well as the effects it has on a wide array of tissues.

What Does Sermorelin Do in the Pituitary Gland?​

Growth hormone is produced by the anterior pituitary gland and released into the bloodstream based on a number of factors including sleep cycles, food intake, hormone signaling, and more. It stimulates growth, cell division, and cell regeneration and is a critical hormone in human development and longevity. It is well known for its ability to promote muscle building and fat burning.

GH release is controlled by the hypothalmus, a component of the brain, which releases growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) into the blood supply of the pituitary gland in response to exercise, nutrition, sleep, testosterone levels, and other stimuli. GHRH is highly sensitive to feedback and input from a number of factors and so does an excellent job of fine-tuning GH levels to meet the body’s needs.

Sermorelin is a synthetic derivative of GHRH. It is made up of the first twenty-nine amino acids of GHRH, which have been modified for absorption and longevity in the body. Because it binds to the same receptors that GHRH does, sermorelin causes the same effects – namely GH release.

Research shows that sermorelin is also subject to the same feedback mechanisms as GHRH, a property that makes sermorelin especially easy to dose and that helps to preserve important patterns in GH secretion.

Why Not Just Use Growth Hormone?​

Recombinant GH is a prescription drug that is tightly controlled in most countries. It is used for pediatric growth insufficiency and, on a very limited basis, for adult GH deficiency. GH is cheap to produce and easily administered via injection, but is plagued by side effects that make it difficult and risky to use.

The reason that GH is plagued by side effects is that simply injecting the protein overrides the body’s normal feedback controls that help to prevent excessive effects. Taking GH directly is associated with acromegaly, heart problems, fluid retention, and liver damage. Dosing must be carefully monitored by a healthcare professional.

The other problem with GH injections (exogenous administration) is that they cause a rapid spike and then decline in GH levels. Under normal circumstances, GH levels rise and fall in an elaborate and tightly controlled pattern in response to all of the stimuli mentioned above. This doesn’t happen when the protein is given by injection, so users get a large spike followed by a deep trough as the body’s control systems overcompensate in an effort to restore balance. This, of course, leads to side effects.

Sermorelin has none of the above problems. Because it mimics the effects of GHRH, rather than GH, it is subject to all of the same fine tuning that GHRH is. The result is a much safter and more physiologic rise and fall in GH level. As the graph below illustrates, normal GH release is much more varied (blue) than exogenous GH administration (grey). Sermorelin follows the pattern of the blue line with higher peaks and troughs.



So, using sermorelin is a safer and more effective way to achieve increases in GH levels. That isn’t the only benefit that the peptide offers though. Research in animals shows that sermorelin has a host of potentially useful effects including improved wound healing and enhanced lifespan.

How Does Sermorelin Work to Improve Growth?​

Sermorelin causes the release of GH, which is a primary driver of bone and muscle growth in the body. Research shows that sermorelin produces higher peaks of GH release even while maintaining normal patterns of GH peaks and troughs. The result is higher levels of GH throughout the day and in response to exercise, food intake, and sleep[1].

How Does Sermorelin Work to Burn Fat?​

GH is a regulator of body composition. Not only does it encourage muscle and bone growth, it also stimulates the burning of fat. Enhancing GH release helps to reduce fat mass and has been explored as a means of fighting obesity, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome. In fact, one of the reasons we gain fat mass around the midsection as we age is due to a decline in growth hormone levels. This decline in GH with age is called somatopause and is thought to be one of the primary drivers of the aging process.

How Does Sermorelin Work to Improve Wound Healing?​

Sermorelin increases rates of tissue regeneration and reduces scar formation, inflammation, and the risk of infection following injury. Research shows that administration of sermorelin following an injury helps to improve tissue health and shift cytokine production to reduce the inflammation that leads to scarring and slower wound repair[2].

Increases in GH levels are associated with higher levels of extracellular matrix deposition. Extracellular matrix consists of things like collage, elastin, and other proteins that serve as the scaffolding for wound repair. Getting the right balance of extracellular matrix production is necessary to achieve optimal ratees of wound healing without excessive scar formation.

It isn’t just skin wounds that sermorelin has been tested against either. Research shows that the peptide is useful in recovery following a heart attack. Scar formation is not just a cosmetic issue when it comes to the heart because scarring can lead to weakness, problems with electrical conduction, and eventually heart failure. Reducing scar formation following a heart attack is critical to improving long-term outcomes. Research shows that sermorelin helps to protect cells in the heart from death, increases the rate of new blood vessel growth, and reduces levels of damaging inflammatory cytokines leading to reductions in scar extent and density[3], [4].

How Does Sermorelin Work to Improve Sleep?​

Orexin is a peptide produced in the brain that regulates wakefulness and appetite. Research shows that orexin levels are tightly regulated in response to a number of factors, with GHRH hormone being one of the most important. Administration of sermorelin boosts orexin levels in the brain, which leads to deeper and more restorative sleep[5].

Interestingly, one of the reasons that disordered sleep becomes more common with age may be due to changes in the GHRH-GH axis leading to changes in orexin secretion. Restoration of appropriate sleep, especially as we get older, may help to thwart the effects of dementia. After all, sleep is a critical time period during which metabolic waste products from the day are removed from the brain. These waste products are toxic and inadequate sleep means inadequate removal. It is thought that inadequate removal of metabolic waste may contribute to dementia and cognitive decline.

How Does Sermorelin Work to Extend Lifespan?​

The relationship between GH and aging is complex and one that hasn’t been fully worked out yet. Research in mice and humans leads to a very confusing picture. For starters, those with genetic GH deficiency tend to live longer than the average person while those with GH excess tend to die early due to heart disease, cancer, and other conditions. That said, older individuals who are going through somatopause and who are treated with some form of GH replacement seen to live longer, healthier lives.

What these findings suggest is that GH levels during puberty are critical for long-term survival with lower levels associated with longer lifespan. However, people who develop along the standard curve actually benefit from maintaining those GH levels throughout life. Letting GH levels drop after puberty seems to lead to age-related dysfunction and senescence[6]. This is precisely what Dr. Walker has been saying.

The Sermorelin Summary​

Sermorelin is a GHRH analogue and therefore increases levels of GH throughout the body. It is associated with beneficial effects on body composition, heart health, wound healing, and more. A lot remains to be learned about sermorelin though. There is still a great deal of active research into the benefits, drawbacks, and functional mechanisms of this peptide.