Summary
Ipamorelin is a synthetic five-amino-acid peptide developed in the 1990s as a growth hormone secretagogue, meaning a compound that prompts the release of growth hormone. It acts on the ghrelin receptor, and the one human trial of it tested that property for a purpose unrelated to growth: restarting the gut after bowel surgery.
What it targets
The 1998 study that introduced it characterised ipamorelin in animals and cell models as selective for growth hormone release, with less effect on cortisol and prolactin than earlier compounds of its type. In 2014 a phase 2, multicentre, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial enrolled 117 adults undergoing open or laparoscopic bowel resection, 114 of whom were analysed, and gave intravenous ipamorelin or placebo twice daily from the first day after surgery until discharge; the key measure was the time from first administration to tolerating a standard solid meal, with safety tracked alongside. It was a proof-of-concept study rather than one designed to establish effectiveness.
Clinical Research
Suppliers stocking Ipamorelin
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