What Is It?
A 7-amino-acid peptide engineered for cognition. Built from the ACTH (4-7) fragment with a Pro-Gly-Pro stabilizer tail. Developed at the Russian Academy of Sciences in 1991. On Russia's List of Vital & Essential Drugs.
How Does It Work?
They built two siblings. Selank started from tuftsin. Found GABA. Made anxiety quiet. Semax started from ACTH. Found BDNF. Made attention sharp. Same stabilizer. Different destinations. Rapidly upregulates BDNF (measurable in 30 minutes, persists 24 hours), increases NGF and GDNF, and acts as a partial MC4R agonist without triggering cortisol release.
Primary Benefits (research suggests)
- Cognitive sharpening and attention support
- Rapid BDNF upregulation (measurable in 30 minutes, persists 24 hours)
- Neurotrophic support via NGF and GDNF elevation
- Used clinically in Russia for stroke recovery
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- Real Russian clinical use since the early 2000s, but no Western trials — the molecule is unpatentable, so no commercial sponsor will fund Phase 3.
- Most data is Russian-language.
- Not FDA-approved.
- Slight glucose elevation observed in ~7.4% of diabetic patients.
- Counterfeit market rampant.
- For research purposes only.
Research Sources
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