Explore studies of muscle recovery.
MK-677 at 25 mg daily reversed diet-induced nitrogen wasting in healthy volunteers, increasing IGF-1 by 40% and producing sustained anabolic effects comparable to GH injections.
Murphy, M G; Plunkett, L M; Gertz, B J; He, W; Wittreich, J; Polvino, W M; Clemmons, D R · RCT
GH secretagogues directly modulated skeletal muscle electrical excitability and contractile properties through a muscle-specific ghrelin-type receptor, independent of GH release — revealing direct muscle-targeting activity.
Pierno, Sabata; De Luca, Annamaria; Desaphy, Jean-François; Fraysse, Bodvael; Liantonio, Antonella; Didonna, Maria Paola; Lograno, Marcello; Cocchi, Daniela; Smith, Roy G; Camerino, Diana Conte · In Vitro
BPC-157 accelerated transected Achilles tendon healing in rats (improved biomechanics and histology) and directly stimulated tendocyte proliferation in vitro, demonstrating both functional repair and cellular mechanism.
Staresinic, M; Sebecic, B; Patrlj, L; Jadrijevic, S; Suknaic, S; Perovic, D; Aralica, G; Zarkovic, N; Borovic, S; Srdjak, M; Hajdarevic, K; Kopljar, M; Batelja, L; Boban-Blagaic, A; Turcic, I; Anic, T; Seiwerth, S; Sikiric, P · Animal Study
BPC-157 promoted tendon-to-bone healing at the Achilles detachment site in rats, improving both normal healing AND opposing corticosteroid-impaired healing — demonstrating efficacy in the clinically challenging scenario of tendon repair during steroid therapy.
Krivic, Andrija; Anic, Tomislav; Seiwerth, Sven; Huljev, Dubravko; Sikiric, Predrag · Animal Study
Ghrelin addresses cardiopulmonary cachexia through triple mechanism: GH-mediated anabolism, appetite stimulation to reverse wasting, and direct cardiac/pulmonary tissue protection — the most comprehensive single-agent approach to this devastating complication.
Nagaya, Noritoshi; Kojima, Masakazu; Kangawa, Kenji · Review
BPC-157 accelerated healing of transected quadriceps muscle in rats with improved functional recovery and histological organization compared to controls, demonstrating efficacy for major skeletal muscle injury repair beyond tendon healing.
Staresinic, Mario; Petrovic, Igor; Novinscak, Tomislav; Jukic, Ivana; Pevec, Damira; Suknaic, Slaven; Kokic, Neven; Batelja, Lovorka; Brcic, Luka; Boban-Blagaic, Alenka; Zoric, Zdenka; Ivanovic, Domagoj; Ajduk, Marko; Sebecic, Bozidar; Patrlj, Leonardo; Sosa, Tomislav; Buljat, Gojko; Anic, Tomislav; Seiwerth, Sven; Sikiric, Predrag · Animal Study
BPC-157 improved early functional recovery (load-to-failure, stiffness) of transected Achilles tendon-to-bone unit, with efficacy maintained during concurrent methylprednisolone — confirming dual tendon-healing and steroid-impairment-overcoming capabilities.
Krivic, A; Majerovic, M; Jelic, I; Seiwerth, S; Sikiric, P · Animal Study
One year of oral MK-677 in healthy older adults (n=65) increased fat-free mass (+1.1 kg), GH, and IGF-1 but also increased fat mass, fasting glucose, and insulin resistance — the most comprehensive long-term RCT showing MK-677's mixed metabolic profile in aging.
Nass, Ralf; Pezzoli, Suzan S; Oliveri, Mary Clancy; Patrie, James T; Harrell, Frank E; Clasey, Jody L; Heymsfield, Steven B; Bach, Mark A; Vance, Mary Lee; Thorner, Michael O · RCT
BPC-157 accelerated healing of muscle crush injury in rats with improved functional recovery and histological regeneration, demonstrating efficacy for acute traumatic muscle damage — expanding its musculoskeletal healing applications beyond tendon and clean transection injuries.
Novinscak, Tomislav; Brcic, Luka; Staresinic, Mario; Jukic, Ivana; Radic, Bozo; Pevec, Danira; Mise, Sandro; Tomasovic, Sanja; Brcic, Iva; Banic, Tihomir; Jakir, Ana; Buljat, Gojko; Anic, Tomislav; Zoricic, Ivan; Romic, Zeljko; Seiwerth, Sven; Sikiric, Predrag · Animal Study
GHRP-2 directly reduced dexamethasone-induced muscle atrophy gene expression (atrogin-1/MAFbx, MuRF1) in C2C12 myocytes via GHS-R — demonstrating direct GH-independent muscle-protective effects against steroid-induced catabolism at the cellular level.
Yamamoto, Daisuke; Ikeshita, Nobuko; Matsubara, Takako; Tasaki, Hiromitsu; Herningtyas, Elizabeth Henny; Toda, Keizo; Iida, Keiji; Takahashi, Yutaka; Kaji, Hidesuke; Chihara, Kazuo; Okimura, Yasuhiko · Animal Study
Ipamorelin improved nitrogen balance and reduced urea synthesis in dexamethasone-treated rats comparably to GH injection, demonstrating GH secretagogue equivalence to direct GH for counteracting steroid-induced protein catabolism.
Aagaard, Niels Kristian; Grøfte, Thorbjørn; Greisen, Jacob; Malmlöf, Kjell; Johansen, Peter B; Grønbaek, Henning; Ørskov, Hans; Tygstrup, Niels; Vilstrup, Hendrik · Animal Study
TMSB4X was the most upregulated secreted protein from contracting C2C12 myotubes by MS-based proteomics, and was acutely increased in plasma of exercising humans irrespective of insulin resistance status.
Gonzalez-Franquesa, Alba; Stocks, Ben; Borg, Melissa L; Kuefner, Michael; Dalbram, Emilie; Nielsen, Thomas S; Agrawal, Ankita; Pankratova, Stanislava; Chibalin, Alexander V; Karlsson, Håkan K R; Gheibi, Sevda; Björnholm, Marie; Jørgensen, Niklas Rye; Clemmensen, Christoffer; Hostrup, Morten; Treebak, Jonas T; Krook, Anna; Zierath, Juleen R; Deshmukh, Atul S · Mixed Methods (Proteomics, Human Observational, Animal, In Vitro)
Neuropeptides including substance P and CGRP are consistently upregulated in chronic tendinopathy, with the paratenon serving as a key source of neoinnervation that drives ongoing pain signaling.
Palee, Suwannika; Jarusriwanna, Atthakorn; Lee, Danielle; Yener, Ugur; Kaye, Alan D; Shaparin, Naum; Wahezi, Sayed E · Scoping Review