Growth Hormone & Performance

GHRH (Growth Hormone-Releasing Hormone)

Growth hormone-releasing hormone, or GHRH, is the natural hypothalamic signal that every growth-hormone peptide in this category was built to imitate: 44 amino acids that bind receptors on the pituitary and prompt growth hormone release. How much rests on it is visible in a strain of dwarf mice called little, whose small size was traced in 1993 to a single mistaken amino acid in the GHRH receptor. In people its established use is diagnostic, given to test whether a pituitary can still respond — a question about the gland rather than a treatment for anything. Beyond that, the human record on file is one registered trial in congestive heart failure.

Last updated 12 August 2026

Studied forGrowth hormone research · Pituitary function testing · Cardiac function research

Evidence on file1 human observational study · 1 animal study

Strongest sourceNCT00791843: The Effect of GHRH Therapy on Myocardial Structure and Function in Congestive Heart Failure (human observational study)

Mechanism

Binds the GHRH receptor on somatotrophs, raising cyclic AMP and stimulating growth hormone synthesis and release.

Reported effects

What sources associate with this compound. Reported categories, not outcomes we have graded — each would need its own citation and rung.

Growth hormone research
Pituitary function testing
Cardiac function research

Dosing on file unverified

SC: 10 mcg/kg nightly; 0.5-1.0 mg BID; 2 mg QD; IV: 1 mcg/kg q3h; 0.03-3.0 mcg/kg

Carried from a source that labels it unverified, and reproduced with that label attached. A record of what is reported, not a recommendation. No citation on this page establishes it.

Half-life, storage & sport

Elimination half-life: 8 min (human, SC) — study. Biomolecules 2024; healthy subjects, single 1.4 mg subcutaneous dose of sermorelin; n and sex not stated.

The half-life on file is 8 min, measured subcutaneously. On the schedule this record states — twice daily — each dose has fallen to under 0.1% of its own peak by the time the next is given. Nothing accumulates, and there is no loading phase to run.

Dosed twice daily over 2 d, each dose normalised to the first peak.

The rise is not modelled and the axis is not a blood level. No absorption rate constant and no volume of distribution are on file, so each dose appears at full height the instant it is given, and the axis is percent of this compound's own peak.

Literature on file 3

human observational
NCT00791843: The Effect of GHRH Therapy on Myocardial Structure and Function in Congestive Heart Failure graded on: a registered clinical study — “clinicaltrials.gov”
animal in vivo
GHRH receptor of little mice contains a missense mutation in the extracellular domain that disrupts receptor function (Nature Genetics 1993, cited 312x) graded on: an animal model — “mice”
review or editorial
GHRH and sleep (Sleep Medicine Reviews 2004, cited 145x) graded on: indexed as "Review" - secondary literature, not a study — “Review”

Identity

Space-filling 3D model of GHRH (Growth Hormone-Releasing Hormone), carbon grey, nitrogen blue, oxygen red — Built from the SMILES on this record — the atoms and bonds are exact. The shape is **one computed low-energy pose**, not a measured structure: a flexible peptide in solution has no single conformation, and where the SMILES leaves a stereocentre undefined the pose commits to one arbitrarily. The skeletal formula below claims connectivity and nothing more, which is what we actually know.

2D chemical structure of GHRH (Growth Hormone-Releasing Hormone) — Built from the SMILES on this record — the atoms and bonds are exact. The shape is **one computed low-energy pose**, not a measured structure: a flexible peptide in solution has no single conformation, and where the SMILES leaves a stereocentre undefined the pose commits to one arbitrarily. The skeletal formula below claims connectivity and nothing more, which is what we actually know.

Molecular weight: 3538.0
Molecular formula: C155H258N44O48S
PubChem CID: 172966663
UniProt: P01286 (precursor)
InChI key: MTFNBFPHFHTPSL-AQAMGABZSA-N
Sequence: YADAIFTNSYRKVLGQLSARKLLQDIMSR
SMILES: CC[C@H](C)[C@@H](C(=O)N[C@@H](CC1=CC=CC=C1)C(=O)N[C@@H]([C@@H](C)O)C(=O)N[C@@H](CC(=O)N)C(=O)N[C@@H](CO)C(=O)N[C@@H](CC2=CC=C(C=C2)O)C(=O)N[C@@H](CCCNC(=N)N)C(=O)N[C@@H](CCCCN)C(=O)N[C@@H](C(C)C)C(=O)N[C@@H](CC(C)C)C(=O)NCC(=O)N[C@@H](CCC(=O)N)C(=O)N[C@@H](CC(C)C)C(=O)N[C@@H](CO)C(=O)N[C@@H](C)C(=O)N[C@@H](CCCNC(=N)N)C(=O)N[C@@H](CCCCN)C(=O)N[C@@H](CC(C)C)C(=O)N[C@@H](CC(C)C)C(=O)N[C@@H](CCC(=O)N)C(=O)N[C@@H](CC(=O)O)C(=O)N[C@@H]([C@@H](C)CC)C(=O)N[C@@H](CCSC)C(=O)N[C@@H](CO)C(=O)N[C@@H](CCCNC(=N)N)C(=O)N)NC(=O)[C@H](C)NC(=O)[C@H](CC(=O)O)NC(=O)[C@H](C)NC(=O)[C@H](CC3=CC=C(C=C3)O)N.CC(=O)O.CC(=O)O.CC(=O)O
InChI: InChI=1S/C149H246N44O42S.3C2H4O2/c1-20-77(13)116(191-122(211)81(17)168-132(221)104(66-113(204)205)178-121(210)79(15)167-123(212)88(152)62-84-39-43-86(198)44-40-84)145(234)185-102(63-83-32-23-22-24-33-83)138(227)193-118(82(18)197)146(235)186-103(65-111(155)202)137(226)189-108(71-196)142(231)182-101(64-85-41-45-87(199)46-42-85)136(225)175-93(38-31-56-165-149(161)162)126(215)174-91(35-26-28-53-151)131(220)190-115(76(11)12)143(232)184-97(58-72(3)4)124(213)166-68-112(203)170-94(47-49-109(153)200)128(217)180-100(61-75(9)10)135(224)188-106(69-194)140(229)169-80(16)120(209)172-92(37-30-55-164-148(159)160)125(214)173-90(34-25-27-52-150)127(216)179-99(60-74(7)8)134(223)181-98(59-73(5)6)133(222)176-95(48-50-110(154)201)129(218)183-105(67-114(206)207)139(228)192-117(78(14)21-2)144(233)177-96(51-57-236-19)130(219)187-107(70-195)141(230)171-89(119(156)208)36-29-54-163-147(157)158;3*1-2(3)4/h22-24,32-33,39-46,72-82,88-108,115-118,194-199H,20-21,25-31,34-38,47-71,150-152H2,1-19H3,(H2,153,200)(H2,154,201)(H2,155,202)(H2,156,208)(H,166,213)(H,167,212)(H,168,221)(H,169,229)(H,170,203)(H,171,230)(H,172,209)(H,173,214)(H,174,215)(H,175,225)(H,176,222)(H,177,233)(H,178,210)(H,179,216)(H,180,217)(H,181,223)(H,182,231)(H,183,218)(H,184,232)(H,185,234)(H,186,235)(H,187,219)(H,188,224)(H,189,226)(H,190,220)(H,191,211)(H,192,228)(H,193,227)(H,204,205)(H,206,207)(H4,157,158,163)(H4,159,160,164)(H4,161,162,165);3*1H3,(H,3,4)/t77-,78-,79-,80-,81-,82+,88-,89-,90-,91-,92-,93-,94-,95-,96-,97-,98-,99-,100-,101-,102-,103-,104-,105-,106-,107-,108-,115-,116-,117-,118-;;;/m0.../s1

Also called

GHRH (Growth Hormone Releasing Hormone)

Notes unverified prose

Human trials: 10 mcg/kg SC; 0.5-1.0 mg SC BID; 2 mg SC QD; IV 1 mcg/kg; Human SC/IV trials; NCT00791843 (heart failure); 2 mg SC

Not on file 1

1 of the 8 fields we track hold nothing on this record, and each says why. A blank field is a bug; a named absence is a finding.

CAS registry numbernothing we hold supplies it

Each field links to every other record missing the same thing. The full ledger holds 765 gaps across 163 records.

At a glance

Strongest rung: human observational
Citations: 3
Regulatory: In or past clinical trials (verified)
Route: Subcutaneous / Intravenous
Declared gaps: 1

Running this

Growth hormone axis

How the class is run, with the source of every schedule beside it.

Citations by rung

Strongest wins, never an average.