Researchers at the Russian National Research Medical University tested Semax, a synthetic peptide given as nasal drops in Russia, in 110 patients going through rehabilitation months after an ischemic stroke.
In the peer-reviewed study, patients started rehabilitation either about three months or about seven months after their stroke, and within each group some received two 10-day courses of Semax. Those given Semax had higher blood levels of BDNF, a protein tied to brain repair, and their scores for everyday independence improved faster.
Starting rehabilitation earlier also tracked with better motor gains, whether or not patients took Semax. The study came from a single Russian group, its abstract does not describe randomization or blinding, and Semax is not approved outside a few countries, so the result is a signal for larger trials rather than settled evidence.
Read the original study
Gusev et al., Zhurnal Nevrologii i Psikhiatrii, 2018 · doi.org/10.17116/jnevro20181183261-68
A decades-old peptide, still mostly unknown abroad.
Source
- Gusev, E. I., Martynov, M. Y., Kostenko, E. V., Petrova, L. V., & Bobyreva, S. N. (2018). [The efficacy of semax in the tretament of patients at different stages of ischemic stroke]. Zhurnal Nevrologii i Psikhiatrii imeni S.S. Korsakova, 118(3. Vyp. 2), 61–68. https://doi.org/10.17116/jnevro20181183261-68