ACTH(4–10) raises a handful of sensible questions. This page answers them in order, starting with the fundamentals and moving to applications.
This page was last updated on 2025-10-21 and is reviewed periodically as new material appears.
Semax is a synthetic heptapeptide with the sequence Met-Glu-His-Phe-Pro-Gly-Pro. It is described in the literature as an analogue of the ACTH(4–10) fragment, a short N-terminal portion of adrenocorticotropic hormone that retains some neurotropic activity without the full hormonal effects of the parent peptide. The molecule carries a methionine residue at the N-terminus and two proline residues near the C-terminus, features that shape both its interactions with receptor systems and its chemical stability. The free peptide corresponds to the formula C37H51N9O10S and a molecular mass near 813.9 Da.
The compound was developed in the 1980s at the Institute of Molecular Genetics in Moscow, where it emerged from research on short ACTH fragments and their effects on the central nervous system. Russian pharmaceutical listings describe it as a nootropic and neuroprotective agent, most often formulated as nasal drops. It is not a marketed medicine in the United States or the European Union, and no pharmacopoeial monograph covers it. Consequently, most published clinical experience with the substance originates from a small number of research centres, mainly in Russia and neighbouring countries.
Semax is a synthetic heptapeptide with the sequence Met-Glu-His-Phe-Pro-Gly-Pro. Its chain combines the first seven residues of corticotropin with a C-terminal proline-glycine-proline extension, a modification intended to slow enzymatic breakdown. The free peptide has a molecular mass near 813.9 daltons. It belongs to the class of ACTH-derived fragments studied for central nervous system activity rather than for adrenal steroid stimulation. This structural relationship to a natural hormone fragment is the usual starting point for describing the compound in the literature.
Development took place during the 1980s at institutes of the Russian Academy of Sciences, where peptide fragments of ACTH were screened for cognitive and neuroprotective effects. The compound received regulatory approval in Russia as a nasal preparation, marketed for conditions such as ischemic stroke, transient ischemic attacks, and optic nerve disorders. Registration in other countries has not followed. Most published clinical reports originate from a small number of Russian research groups, and independent replication outside that setting remains limited. The regulatory status therefore differs sharply between Russia and the rest of the world.
| Property | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Molecular formula | C37H51N9O10S | Free acid form of the heptapeptide; depends on terminal groups |
| Molecular mass | About 813.9 g/mol | Average mass used for mass spectrometry confirmation |
| Appearance | White to off-white solid | Supplied as a lyophilised powder; hygroscopic |
| Solubility class | Freely soluble in aqueous media | Water, saline, and phosphate buffers; limited organic solubility |
| Typical storage temperature | -20 degrees Celsius | Long term and dry; short working periods may use 2 to 8 degrees Celsius |
Semax is a synthetic heptapeptide with the sequence Met-Glu-His-Phe-Pro-Gly-Pro. It was derived from the ACTH(4-10) fragment, a short segment of adrenocorticotropic hormone that lacks the hormonal activity associated with the full-length peptide. Researchers at the Institute of Molecular Genetics in Moscow developed the compound during the 1980s. It has been registered as a pharmaceutical product in Russia and several neighbouring countries, where it is supplied as a nasal solution, and it is also sold internationally as a research chemical.
The proposed mechanism centres on neurotrophic signalling rather than direct receptor activation. Semax is reported to increase expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor and nerve growth factor in several brain regions, and to shift the balance between excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitter systems. Interaction with melanocortin receptors has been suggested because of the parent ACTH fragment. Many of these findings come from rodent studies, and the extent to which they translate to human physiology remains an open question.
Semax 是人工设计的七肽，序列为 Met-Glu-His-Phe-Pro-Gly-Pro，骨架取自促肾上腺皮质激素片段 ACTH(4-10)。它于二十世纪八十年代在苏联的分子遗传学研究机构内合成。设计目标是保留该片段与注意力和记忆相关的活性，同时剔除促皮质激素释放等内分泌作用。此后俄罗斯将其登记为药品并进入临床使用。
当时的短肽研究普遍关注能否穿越血脑屏障、在低剂量下产生中枢效应，Semax 属于这一路线。鼻内给药是其主要使用方式，俄语文献报道的适应症涵盖缺血性卒中、短暂性脑缺血发作、认知功能减退以及视神经病变。这些研究大多发表在当地期刊上，样本规模与终点设置同西方试验惯例存在差异，国际同行对其临床证据的强度看法不一。
=== Screening === It is unclear if screening pregnant women for iron-deficiency anemia during pregnancy improves outcomes in the United States. The same holds for screening children who are 6 to 24 months old. Even so, screening is a Level B recommendation suggested by the US Preventive Services Task Force in pregnant women without symptoms and in infants considered high risk. Screening is done with either a hemoglobin or hematocrit lab test.
The Soviet military maintained control over the space program; Korolev's OKB-1 design bureau was subordinated under the Ministry of General Machine Building, tasked with the development of intercontinental ballistic missiles, and continued to give its assets random identifiers into the 1960s. Information about failures was systematically withheld, historian James Andrews notes that Soviet media coverage of the space program, particularly human space missions, rarely reported any failures or difficulties, creating the impression of a flawless operation:"With almost no exceptions, coverage of Soviet space exploits, especially in the case of human space missions, omitted reports of failure or trouble".Dominic Phelan noted in the book Cold War Space Sleuths (Springer-Praxis 2013): "The USSR was famously described by Winston Churchill as 'a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma' and nothing signified this more than the search for the truth behind its space program during the Cold War. Although the Space Race was literally played out above our heads, it was often obscured by a figurative 'space curtain' that took much effort to see through".
None of modern Pakistan was under British rule until 1839 when Karachi, a small fishing village governed by Talpurs of Sindh with a mud fort guarding the harbour, was taken, and used as an enclave with a port and military base for the First Afghan War that ensued. The remainder of Sindh was acquired in 1843, and subsequently, through a series of wars and treaties, the East India Company, and later, after the Sepoy Mutiny (1857–1858), direct rule by Queen Victoria of the British Empire, acquired most of the region. Key conflicts included those against the Baloch Talpur dynasty, resolved by the Battle of Miani (1843) in Sindh, the Anglo-Sikh Wars (1845–1849), and the Anglo-Afghan Wars (1839–1919). By 1893, modern Pakistan was part of the British Indian Empire, and remained so until independence in 1947. Under British rule, modern Pakistan was primarily divided into the Sind Division, Punjab Province, and the Baluchistan Agency. The region also included various princely states, with the largest being Bahawalpur. An important uprising against the British in the region was the Indian Rebellion of 1857, known at the time as the Sepoy Mutiny. Divergence in the relationship between Hinduism and Islam resulted in significant tension in British India, leading to religious violence. The language controversy further exacerbated tensions between Hindus and Muslims. A Muslim intellectual movement, led by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan to counter the Hindu renaissance, advocated for the two-nation theory and led to the establishment of the All-India Muslim League in 1906.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
In the first mechanism, Browner M.F. and colleagues proposed the base-catalysis mechanism, carried out by the conserved glutamate residue and the Zn2+ ion. In the second mechanism, the Matthews-mechanism, Kester and Matthews suggested an interaction between a water molecule and the Zn2+ ion during the acid-base catalysis. In the third mechanism, the Manzetti-mechanism, Manzetti Sergio and colleagues provided evidence that a coordination between water and zinc during catalysis was unlikely, and suggested a third mechanism wherein a histidine from the HExxHxxGxxH-motif participates in catalysis by allowing the Zn2+ ion to assume a quasi-penta coordinated state, via its dissociation from it. In this state, the Zn2+ ion is coordinated with the two oxygen atoms from the catalytic glutamic acid, the substrate's carbonyl oxygen atom, and the two histidine residues, and can polarize the glutamic acid's oxygen atom, proximate the scissile bond, and induce it to act as reversible electron donor. This forms an oxyanion transition state. At this stage, a water molecule acts on the dissociated scissile bond and completes the hydrolyzation of the substrate.
== Bibliography == Guillén, Mauro F.; García-Cana, Esteban (2010). Guillén, Mauro F.; García-Cana, Esteban (2010). The New Multinationals: Spanish Firms in a Global Context (in Spanish). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521516143. VV.AA. (2012). Expansión (ed.). Las 40 empresas que crecen en tiempos de crisis (in Spanish). Bubok Publishing. ISBN 978-84-686-3028-1. Martínez Bernal, Pablo; Freischütz, Christian (2026). Los outsiders ibéricos. Ocho equipos directivos y el secreto de su éxito (in Spanish). Madrid: Marcial Pons. ISBN 9791399097016.
=== Compilation albums with various artists === What Feet – "Wasting My Time" (1988) Diamonds and Porcupines – "She Rides the Waves" (1988, demo version) Gigantic! 2 – "A Deeper Sleep for Steven" (1990) Indie Top 20 Vol. VIII – "Sight of You" (1990) Music for the 90's: Vol. 2 – "Time Thief" (1990, edit) Peel Session – "Time Thief" (1990) Indie Top 20 Vol XI – "Half-Life, Remembered" (1991) Knowing Where it All Leeds – "Two Sick Sisters" (1991) ...and dog bones, too – "Neverending Night" (1992) Lilliput – "Throwing Back the Apple", "Featherframe", "A Thousand Stars Burst Open" (1992, Tintwhistle Brass Band version) Precious – "Kinky Love" (1992) 4AD Presents The 13 Year Itch – "One Blue Hill" (1993, demo) All Virgos Are Mad – "Fine Friend" (1994) No Balls – "One Blue Hill" (1995) Step Right Up: The Songs of Tom Waits – "Jersey Girl" (1995) Joyride – "A Thousand Stars Burst Open" (1997) Dr. Martens Shoe Pie – "1000 Stars Burst Open" (1997) 1980 Forward – "Sight of You" (2005)
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
It is described as a synthetic analogue of the ACTH(4–10) fragment, a short segment of adrenocorticotropic hormone. Its sequence differs from that fragment and includes two proline residues, which influence stability and behaviour in solution.
It appears in Russian pharmaceutical listings as a nasal formulation, but it is not an authorised medicine in the United States or the European Union. Outside those markets it is normally encountered as a research chemical rather than a prescription product.
Laboratory and animal work points to melanocortin signalling and changes in neurotrophic factor levels, especially brain-derived neurotrophic factor. The exact receptor targets and the degree to which these findings transfer to humans are still unresolved.
Semax is a synthetic seven-amino-acid peptide derived from a fragment of corticotropin. It is used in Russia as a nasal preparation, while elsewhere it is studied as a research compound. It is not approved as a medicine in most countries.