The short version of ACTH(4-10) fits in a sentence. The long version — which is the one that helps — is below.
Reviewed 2025-09-29. Anything still debated is marked as such rather than presented as settled.
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.
Laboratory work points toward modulation of neurotrophic signaling, particularly expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor and nerve growth factor in hippocampal tissue. Studies also describe effects on monoamine turnover, inflammatory mediators, and oxidative markers. These observations come mainly from animal models and cultured cells, so the causal chain in humans is not firmly established. Whether the reported molecular changes translate into measurable clinical benefit is an open question. Reviews generally present the mechanism as plausible rather than demonstrated.
Published studies examine a fairly narrow set of endpoints. Rodent experiments commonly measure maze learning, infarct volume after induced ischemia, and tissue levels of neurotrophic factors. Clinical reports from Russian centres describe attention, memory and recovery scores in patients after stroke or transient ischemic attack. Most of those human studies are small and few have been repeated by independent groups. Outcome measures differ between studies, which limits direct comparison.
Circulation time for the peptide is short because peptidases cleave it readily. The Pro-Gly-Pro tail is thought to slow breakdown compared with the bare ACTH fragment, but the gain appears modest. Absorption after intranasal dosing is limited, and only a fraction of a dose is expected to reach the central nervous system. Laboratory concentrations therefore sit well above levels achieved systemically, a gap that complicates translation from bench findings to clinical claims.
| Property | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Sequence | Met-Glu-His-Phe-Pro-Gly-Pro | Heptapeptide; ACTH(4-10) analog extended at C-terminus |
| Molecular mass | ~813.9 Da | Free peptide, unmodified |
| Appearance | White to off-white powder | Typical lyophilized solid |
| Solubility | Soluble in water and saline | Also soluble in common aqueous buffers |
| Storage (solid) | -20 °C, desiccated | Protect from moisture and repeated thawing |
Regulatory status varies sharply by country. Semax is registered for medical use in Russia, where it appears in formularies as a nasal solution, and it also holds registration in a small number of neighbouring states. It has no approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration or the European Medicines Agency, and it is not a scheduled controlled substance in most jurisdictions. Elsewhere it circulates mainly as laboratory material, so purity documentation comes from suppliers rather than from a national pharmacopoeia.
Semax is a synthetic peptide created in the Soviet Union during the early 1980s by researchers working in Moscow. It was built from the short adrenocorticotropic hormone fragment known as ACTH(4-10), and the chain was then extended with three additional amino acids. The resulting molecule was named semax and entered clinical use in Russia in 1994. It is generally described as a nootropic and neuroprotective agent rather than as a hormone analogue.
Purity assessment relies mainly on reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography, which separates the target heptapeptide from truncated sequences, deletion analogues, and oxidised forms. Mass spectrometry, usually coupled to liquid chromatography, confirms identity through the expected molecular ion and reveals modifications such as methionine sulfoxide formation. Amino acid analysis can verify composition, and tandem mass spectrometry supports sequence confirmation. Ultraviolet detection near 254 to 280 nanometres is convenient because the phenylalanine and histidine residues absorb in that region. Nuclear magnetic resonance is rarely used for routine release testing.
Common degradation pathways include oxidation of the methionine side chain, hydrolysis of the peptide backbone, and aggregation under unfavourable pH or concentration. Stability studies typically monitor the main peak by chromatography and report total related substances as a percentage. Because no official monograph exists, acceptance criteria vary between laboratories, and reported purity values are not directly comparable across suppliers. Analysts therefore document the method, column, and detection wavelength alongside each result, and open questions remain about how much biological activity the oxidised forms retain.
==== Organization ==== Nuclear actin exists mainly as a monomer, but can also form dynamic oligomers and short polymers. Nuclear actin organization varies in different cell types. For example, in Xenopus oocytes (with higher nuclear actin level in comparison to somatic cells) actin forms filaments, which stabilize nucleus architecture. These filaments can be observed under the microscope thanks to fluorophore-conjugated phalloidin staining. In somatic cell nuclei, however, actin filaments cannot be observed using this technique. The DNase I inhibition assay, the only test which allows the quantification of the polymerized actin directly in biological samples, has revealed that endogenous nuclear actin indeed occurs mainly in a monomeric form. Precisely controlled level of actin in the cell nucleus, lower than in the cytoplasm, prevents the formation of filaments. The polymerization is also reduced by the limited access to actin monomers, which are bound in complexes with ABPs, mainly cofilin.
=== As punishment === In some situations, people's hair is shaved as a punishment or a form of humiliation. After World War II, head-shaving was a common punishment in France, the Netherlands, and Norway for women who had collaborated with the Nazis during the occupation, and, in particular, for women who had sexual relations with an occupying soldier. In the United States, during the Vietnam War, conservative students would sometimes attack student radicals or "hippies" by shaving beards or cutting long hair. One notorious incident occurred at Stanford University, when unruly fraternity members grabbed Resistance founder (and student-body president) David Harris, cut off his long hair, and shaved his beard. During European witch-hunts of the Medieval and Early Modern periods, alleged witches were stripped naked and their entire body shaved to discover the so-called witches' marks. The discovery of witches' marks was then used as evidence in trials. Inmates have their heads shaved upon entry at certain prisons.
=== Autoimmune processes === Research from 2007 suggested that in type 1 diabetics, the continuing autoimmune disease which initially destroyed the beta cells of the pancreas may also cause neuropathy, and nephropathy. In 2008 it was even suggested to treat retinopathy with drugs to suppress the abnormal immune response rather than by blood sugar control.
=== Agricultural uses === It is used in agriculture for pest control of soil-borne pathogens such as Meloidogyne incognita or Helicotylenchus dihystera. It is also used as a mutagen for crop selection of plants such as rice, barley or oats.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
In 2017, Hayden announced the Librarian-in-Residence program, which aims to support the future generation of librarians by giving them the opportunity to gain work experience in five different areas of librarianship, including: Acquisitions/Collection Development, Cataloging/Metadata, and Collection Preservation. On January 6, 2021, at 1:11 pm EST, the Library's Madison Building and the Cannon House Office Building were the first buildings in the Capitol Complex to be ordered to evacuate as rioters breached security perimeters before storming the Capitol building. Hayden clarified two days later that rioters did not breach any of the Library buildings or collections and all staff members were safely evacuated. On February 14, 2023, Hayden announced that the Lilly Endowment gifted the library with $2.5 million as a five-year grant to "launch programs that foster greater understanding of religious cultures in Africa, Central Asia, and the Middle East". The Library plans to leverage the donation in these areas:
==== Inflammatory bowel diseases ==== There is a genetic association between GPX4 and Crohn's disease. Subsequent study found that small intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) from Crohn's disease patient samples show reduced GPX4 expression and activity and lipid peroxidation. The same study found that dietary lipids in Western diets such as the PUFA arachidonic acid can trigger enteritis resembling Crohn's disease in a mouse model.
=== Pharmacodynamics === Topilutamide is an antagonist of the AR, the biological target of androgens like testosterone and DHT. Fluridil binds to the androgen receptor with approximately a 9-15-fold higher affinity than more primitive NSAAs such as bicalutamide and hydroxyflutamide, but more research is required to validate these findings.
=== Pregnancy === The evaluation of individuals with valvular heart disease who are or wish to become pregnant is a difficult issue. Issues that have to be addressed include the risks during pregnancy to the mother and the developing fetus by the presence of maternal valvular heart disease as a pre-existing disease in pregnancy. Normal physiological changes during pregnancy require, on average, a 50% increase in circulating blood volume that is accompanied by an increase in cardiac output that usually peaks between the midportion of the second and third trimesters. The increased cardiac output is due to an increase in the stroke volume, and a small increase in heart rate, averaging 10 to 20 beats per minute. Additionally uterine circulation and endogenous hormones cause systemic vascular resistance to decrease and a disproportionately lowering of diastolic blood pressure causes a wide pulse pressure. Inferior vena caval obstruction from a gravid uterus in the supine position can result in an abrupt decrease in cardiac preload, which leads to hypotension with weakness and lightheadedness. During labor and delivery cardiac output increases more in part due to the associated anxiety and pain, as well as due to uterine contractions which will cause an increase in systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Valvular heart lesions associated with high maternal and fetal risk during pregnancy include:
=== Photography series === 1996–1998: Homonymes (portraits of ordinary people with the same names as famous people) 1998: Reconstitutions - Rêves Reconstitués 2000–2002: Angoisse, Philéas Fogg (photographs taken around the city of Angoisse, whose name in French means "anguish") 2001–2002: Reconstitutions - Actualités (staged and anonymized photos playing on the stereotypes of press photography) 2002: Reconstitutions - Pornographie (clothed models in pornographic positions) 2003: Reconstitutions - Rugby (models in street clothing posed in rugby positions sans ball) 2003: Reconstitutions - Quotidien (newspaper or magazine photographs, restaged with actors who are anonymized and in everyday clothing against a black background)
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
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.
Its sequence corresponds to the 4-10 region of corticotropin extended by three residues. This fragment lacks the region responsible for adrenal steroid release, so it is explored for neural rather than hormonal effects. The relationship explains the compound's classification among ACTH-derived peptides.
It holds approval in Russia for several neurological indications as a nasal spray or drop formulation. Regulatory agencies in the United States and the European Union have not approved it. Products sold elsewhere are generally labeled for research use only.
It consists mainly of animal experiments and small clinical reports, with much of the clinical material published in Russian-language journals. Large independent trials are scarce. Separating reliable effects from chance findings is consequently difficult.