Compounds › Growth hormone axis

Tesamorelin

The only GHRH analog approved by the FDA

ApprovedGrowth hormone axis

Experimental material. Read before using anything from here.

Nothing on this page is a medical recommendation, prescription or treatment plan. It is an organized translation of protocols circulating in research communities and, where it exists, of what published trials tested. The two are marked differently — and they are not equivalent.

Most of the compounds here have no FDA approval for human use. Several are sold labeled "research use only", which means they have not gone through purity, sterility or dosage controls for human consumption. A community-reported dose is not a validated dose: it is what someone reported having done.

Talk to a licensed health professional before considering any of these compounds. If you already use one and feel anything unexpected, seek care — do not wait for the next routine test.

Summary

The only FDA-approved GHRH peptide. It signals the pituitary to release more of its own growth hormone, in the natural rhythm. Sold as Egrifta SV and Egrifta WR for HIV-associated lipodystrophy. It is the compound in the GH group with the strongest regulatory backing.

Quick reference

Route: Subcutaneous, abdomen only. Rotate the site every day.
Schedule: 1×/day. No escalation — full dose from the first day.
Measure: U-100 syringe. The volume depends on the concentration after reconstitution.
Status: FDA-approved for HIV-associated lipodystrophy. Everything else is off-label.

Tesamorelin Dosing by Formulation

Phase	Timing	Daily dose	Notes
Day 1 onward	Every day	2 mg	No titration. Inject SubQ in the abdomen.
Weeks 1-26	Daily	2 mg	Phase III trial exposure pattern.
Continued therapy	Daily	2 mg	Trials showed effects reverse when stopped.

Tesamorelin Dosing by Formulation

Phase	Timing	Daily dose	Notes
Day 1 onward	Every day	1.4 mg	Draw 0.35 mL after reconstitution with 0.5 mL diluent.
Maintenance	Daily	1.4 mg	Use immediately after mixing (per label).

Tesamorelin Dosing by Formulation

Phase	Timing	Daily dose	Notes
Day 1 onward	Every day	1.28 mg	Draw 0.16 mL after weekly reconstitution.
Maintenance	Daily	1.28 mg	Store reconstituted vial at 2-8C for up to 28 days.

Cycle Guidelines

Approach	Duration	Review point	Best for
Standard	26 weeks	Week 26 imaging	Phase III trial exposure pattern
Extended	52 weeks	Week 52 imaging	Pooled Phase III extension data
Long-term (NAFLD context)	12 months	12-month imaging	Liver-fat study exposure pattern

Tesamorelin Reconstitution Guide

Vial size	BAC water added	Concentration	1 mg Dose	1.4 mg Dose	2 mg Dose
2 mg	0.5 mL	4,000 mcg/mL	0.25 mL (25 units)	0.35 mL (35 units)	0.50 mL (50 units, full vial)
2 mg	1.0 mL	2,000 mcg/mL	0.50 mL (50 units)	0.70 mL (70 units)	1.0 mL (100 units, full vial)
5 mg	1.0 mL	5,000 mcg/mL	0.20 mL (20 units)	0.28 mL (28 units)	0.40 mL (40 units)
5 mg	2.5 mL	2,000 mcg/mL	0.50 mL (50 units)	0.70 mL (70 units)	1.0 mL (100 units)
10 mg	2.0 mL	5,000 mcg/mL	0.20 mL (20 units)	0.28 mL (28 units)	0.40 mL (40 units)
10 mg	5.0 mL	2,000 mcg/mL	0.50 mL (50 units)	0.70 mL (70 units)	1.0 mL (100 units)

Tesamorelin Timeline & What to Monitor

Time point	What Trials Saw
Week 2	IGF-1 levels rise; overnight GH output goes up (Grinspoon 2011 healthy-male data).
Week 13	Early visceral fat decrease begins (interim trial readouts).
Week 26	Phase III primary endpoint: VAT reduction of 11.7 to 15.2% versus placebo.
Week 52	Pooled extension data showed maintained VAT effects with continued therapy.
12 months	Lancet HIV NAFLD trial: liver-fat reduction of about 32% versus placebo, with lower fibrosis progression.
After stopping	VAT and other effects trended back toward baseline.

Tesamorelin vs Sermorelin vs CJC-1295

Feature	Tesamorelin	Sermorelin	CJC-1295 (DAC)
Receptor Target	GHRH receptor	GHRH receptor	GHRH receptor
Peptide Length	44 amino acids (modified)	29 amino acids	29 amino acids + DAC
Half-life	26-38 minutes	11-12 minutes	~6-8 days
Dosing frequency	1×/day	1×/night	1–2x weekly
FDA Status	Approved (2010; Egrifta)	Previously approved; discontinued	Not FDA-approved
Phase III Trial Data	Yes (n=816 pooled)	No adult Phase III VAT datasets	No
Visceral Fat Reduction	15-20% at 26 weeks	Not formally studied in RCTs	Not formally studied in RCTs
Liver Fat Reduction	32% at 12 months (NAFLD trial)	Not studied	Not studied
Typical Research Dose	2 mg daily	200-300 mcg nightly	1-2 mg weekly
Unique advantage	Only FDA-approved GHRH with deepest trial evidence	Longest historical track record	Weekly dosing convenience

Storage and handling

The rules below apply to practically every lyophilized peptide in this reference. Where a compound has its own requirement, it appears in the table in the previous section.

Lyophilized powder, sealed: refrigerator, between 2 and 8 °C, protected from light. Many tolerate room temperature for short transport periods, but that is tolerance, not a recommendation.
After reconstitution: always refrigerated, between 2 and 8 °C. The stability window drops to days or a few weeks, depending on the compound.
Never freeze after reconstituting. The freeze–thaw cycle degrades the peptide.
Do not shake. Swirl the vial slowly. Shaking breaks the peptide chain.
Bacteriostatic water down the wall of the vial, in a slow stream, not squirted directly onto the powder.
Cloudy solution, with particles or a color change: discard. There is no recovery.

Lab tests and monitoring

This list is the one that appears recurrently in the source, with small variations by compound. It serves as a starting point for a conversation with a professional — not as a substitute for that conversation.

Before starting: complete blood count, comprehensive metabolic panel, lipid panel, fasting glucose and HbA1c, TSH and free T4, blood pressure and resting heart rate.
Depending on the compound: IGF-1 (GH axis), lipase and amylase (VIP and the incretin agonists), serum copper and ceruloplasmin (GHK-Cu and blends containing it), CRP.
Reassessment: most protocols review between week 4 and week 8, and then every 8–12 weeks.
Do not wait for the routine lab test in the face of abdominal pain, visual changes, a change in a mole, shortness of breath, asymmetric swelling or any new and persistent symptom. That is a reason to seek care, not a spreadsheet item.

Evidence limits

What these numbers are and what they are not. The values above were preserved exactly as they appear in the source, without reinterpretation. What the source describes as community practice is marked as such in the tables; what came from a published trial is too. A dose repeated by many people does not become a validated dose by repetition.

Data source: peptidedosingprotocols.com, accessed on September 3, 2026. Translation and organization in Portuguese are original work. No primary source (PubMed, trial registry, package insert) was checked in building this page — the check was against the secondary source, and that alone.

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