Everything below concerns nasal drops. We keep the language plain, cite what the science says, and separate well-supported claims from open questions.
Updated 2025-10-12. Numbers and descriptions here follow the published literature rather than marketing material.
The parent fragment ACTH(4-10) carries the sequence Met-Glu-His-Phe-Arg-Trp-Gly. Semax replaces the arginine and tryptophan positions with a proline-glycine-proline tail, giving Met-Glu-His-Phe-Pro-Gly-Pro. That change removes residues associated with adrenal stimulation, so the peptide does not drive cortisol release the way full ACTH does. This distinction shapes how the compound is grouped in the literature, where it sits with neuropeptides and peptide neuromodulators rather than with corticosteroids.
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.
Scientific literature on semax is unevenly distributed. A substantial share of published work originates from a small number of laboratories in Russia, while independent replication elsewhere is limited. Human data consist mostly of small trials with short follow-up, and several reported outcomes rely on subjective rating scales. Questions about how much intact peptide reaches the central nervous system after nasal administration, and how long it persists there, are still unresolved. The compound is best described as an active research subject rather than a settled pharmacological agent.
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.
| Property | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Chemical class | Synthetic heptapeptide | Analogue of the ACTH(4-10) fragment |
| Amino acid sequence | Met-Glu-His-Phe-Pro-Gly-Pro | Single-letter form MEHFPGP |
| Molecular formula | C37H51N9O10S | Free peptide, nominal mass near 814 Da |
| First registration | 1994, Russia | Nasal formulation for neurological indications |
| Typical purity grade | 95% or higher by HPLC | Research material; higher grades used as reference standards |
Development is attributed to researchers at the Institute of Molecular Genetics in Moscow during the early 1980s, building on earlier Soviet work with ACTH fragments. Russian regulatory approval followed for intranasal use, and the compound has remained commercially available there for decades. Most published human data originate from Russian and, later, some Eastern European clinical reports, which are not always accessible in English translation. Outside that region the material is generally handled as a research chemical rather than a licensed medicine.
Regulatory status differs sharply between jurisdictions. In Russia the peptide is registered as a prescription nasal preparation, while agencies such as the United States Food and Drug Administration have not approved it for any indication. Products sold elsewhere are typically labeled for laboratory research only, and such labels shift responsibility for safe handling to the purchaser. Because the same name covers pharmaceutical-grade nasal drops and bulk research powder, identity and purity documentation becomes the main practical concern when comparing sources.
Semax is a synthetic heptapeptide whose sequence is Met-Glu-His-Phe-Pro-Gly-Pro. It was developed as a fragment analog of adrenocorticotropic hormone, modeled specifically on the ACTH(4-10) region. The first four residues reproduce that fragment, while a Pro-Gly-Pro tripeptide is appended at the C-terminus. Work on the compound originated in Russia, where it entered clinical use as an intranasal preparation. Its sequence places it among short regulatory peptides studied for effects on the central nervous system rather than on the adrenal axis.
The C-terminal Pro-Gly-Pro extension is not incidental. Proline-rich tails are known to resist several common peptidases, and the published literature attributes the longer half-life of Semax, relative to unmodified ACTH fragments, to this feature. The modification also removes the melanocyte-stimulating and corticosteroidogenic activity that characterizes longer ACTH-derived sequences. Because the molecule is small and hydrophilic, it is typically formulated as an aqueous solution for intranasal or parenteral delivery. Acetylation or amidation at the termini appears in closely related research peptides and shifts the mass by a fixed increment.
The production, distribution, and sale of cocaine products is restricted (and illegal in most contexts) in most countries as regulated by the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, and the United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances. In the United States the manufacture, importation, possession, and distribution of cocaine are additionally regulated by the 1970 Controlled Substances Act. Some countries, such as Bolivia, Colombia, and Peru, permit the cultivation of coca leaf for traditional consumption by the local indigenous population, but nevertheless, prohibit the production, sale, and consumption of cocaine. The provisions as to how much a coca farmer can yield annually is protected by laws such as the Bolivian Cato accord. In addition, some parts of Europe, the United States, and Australia allow processed cocaine for medicinal uses only.
==== Clostridioides difficile diarrhea ==== The first study on dogs used for the detection of infectious diseases was conducted by Bomers et al. in 2012. The dogs were trained with food rewards to detect individuals with C. difficile diarrhea, and the results showed 100% specificity and sensitivity in the detection in stool samples. They were also capable of surveilling C. difficile in the environment with 92.3% sensitivity and 95.4% specificity for both odor detection and the ability to locate the source. Vancouver Canada hospital's canine scent recognition program also reported observing dogs' promising ability to detect C. difficile on hospital surfaces, equipment, and C. difficile reservoirs. The advantage of using trained dogs to detect C. difficile compared to the traditional culture-based diagnostic method is the fast detection speed, which only takes a few minutes. Whether sniffing dogs could be universally employed for diagnosing C. difficile is dubious as although it yields the results faster than the preexisting nucleic amplification test, its responsiveness is significantly lower.
Dry ice is the solid form of carbon dioxide. It is commonly used for temporary refrigeration as CO2 does not have a liquid state at normal atmospheric pressure and sublimes directly from the solid state to the gas state. It is used primarily as a cooling agent, but is also used in fog machines at theatres for dramatic effects. Its advantages include lower temperature than that of water ice and not leaving any residue (other than incidental frost from moisture in the atmosphere). It is useful for preserving frozen foods (such as ice cream) where mechanical cooling is unavailable. Dry ice sublimes at 194.7 K (−78.5 °C; −109.2 °F) at Earth atmospheric pressure. This extreme cold makes the solid dangerous to handle without protection from frostbite injury. While carbon dioxide is not toxic at normal atmospheric concentrations, dry ice can create dangerous CO₂ levels in poorly ventilated spaces. The outgassing from it can cause hypercapnia (abnormally elevated carbon dioxide levels in the blood) due to a buildup in confined locations.
Modern kefir is made by adding kefir grains to milk typically at a proportion of 2–5% grains-to-milk. The mixture is then placed in a corrosion-resistant container, such as a glass jar, and stored preferably in the dark to prevent degradation of light-sensitive vitamins. After a period between 12 and 24 hours of fermentation at mild temperature, ideally 20–25 °C (68–77 °F), the grains are strained from the milk using a corrosion-resistant (stainless steel or plastic) utensil and kept to produce another batch. During the fermentation process the grains enlarge and eventually split forming new units. The resulting fermented liquid may be drunk, used in recipes, or kept aside in a sealed container for additional time to undergo a secondary fermentation. Because of its acidity the beverage should not be stored in reactive metal containers such as aluminium, copper, or zinc, as these may leach into it over time. The shelf life, unrefrigerated, is up to thirty days. The Russian method permits production of kefir on a larger scale and uses two fermentations. The first step is to prepare the cultures by inoculating milk with 2–3% grains as described. The grains are then removed by filtration and 1–3% of the resulting liquid mother culture is added to milk and fermented for 12 to 18 hours. Kefir can be made using freeze-dried cultures commonly available in powder form from health food stores. A portion of the resulting kefir can be saved to be used a number of times to propagate further fermentations but ultimately does not form grains.
== Results == The plebiscite took place on 11 July 1920, when Poland appeared on the verge of defeat in the Polish-Soviet War (see Miracle at the Vistula). The pro-German side was able to organise a very successful propaganda campaign by building on the long campaign of Germanisation; notably, the plebiscite asking the electorate to vote for Poland or East Prussia is said to have masked the pro-German choice under the provincial name of East Prussia. However, the weight of that argument can not have been strong because the voters were aware East Prussia was just a German province, not a sovereign state, as an alternative for Germany. The activity of pro-German organisations and the Allied support for the participation of those who were born in the plebiscite area but did not live there any longer helped the vote toward Germany. In the end, the weight of the evidently-substantial number of pro-German emigration voters can be ignored in the light of the 96% pro-German overall total. Anyway, the plebiscite resulted in a vast majority for East Prussia. Only a small part of the territory affected by the plebiscite was awarded to Poland, and most of it remained in Germany. Poland's supposed disadvantage by the Versailles Treaty stipulation was that it enabled those to return to vote if they were born in the plebiscite areas but no longer living there. Most of them were supposed to have been influenced by German national sentiments. For that reason, German nationalist societies and political parties wanted to assist them by facilitating their travel to the plebiscite area.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
pyrimidine dimer A type of molecular lesion caused by photochemical damage to DNA or RNA, whereby exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation induces the formation of covalent bonds between pyrimidine bases occupying adjacent positions in the same polynucleotide strand, which in turn may cause local conformational changes in secondary structure and prevent base pairing with the opposite strand. In DNA, the dimerization reaction occurs between neighboring thymine and cytosine residues (T−T, C−C, or T−C); it can also occur between cytosine and uracil residues in double-stranded RNA. Pyrimidine dimers are usually quickly corrected by nucleotide excision repair, but uncorrected lesions can inhibit or arrest polymerase activity during transcription or replication.
=== Fasted state === When fasting, the activation of lipolysis provides fatty acids as the preferred fuel source for respiration. In the liver β-oxidation of fatty acids fulfills the local energy needs and may lead to ketogenesis (creating ketone bodies out of fatty acids.) The ketone bodies are then used to meet the demands of tissues other than the liver. This inhibition of glucose oxidation at the level of pyruvate dehydrogenase preserves pyruvate and lactate, both of which are gluconeogenic precursors.
== Bibliography == "Hudson River Chain", Harper's Encyclopedia of United States History, Vol. IV, p. 447, Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1905. Information plaques at Trophy Point at West Point, New York. "West Point Fortifications", Scribd U.S. Military Academy Department of History, West Point Fortifications Staff Ride Notecards, second edition (1998)
A vein () is a blood vessel in the circulatory system of humans and most other animals that carries blood towards the heart. Most veins carry deoxygenated blood from the tissues back to the heart; exceptions are those of the pulmonary and fetal circulations which carry oxygenated blood to the heart. In the systemic circulation, arteries carry oxygenated blood away from the heart, and veins return deoxygenated blood to the heart, in the deep veins. There are three sizes of veins: large, medium, and small. Smaller veins are called venules, the smallest of which are called post-capillary venules – microscopic veins that play a major role in microcirculation. Veins are often closer to the skin than arteries. Veins have less smooth muscle and connective tissue and wider internal diameters than arteries. Because of their thinner walls and wider lumens they are able to expand and hold more blood. This greater capacity gives them the term of capacitance vessels. At any time, nearly 70% of the total volume of blood in the human body is in the veins. In medium and large sized veins the flow of blood is maintained by one-way (unidirectional) venous valves to prevent backflow. In the lower limbs this is also aided by muscle pumps, also known as venous pumps that exert pressure on intramuscular veins when they contract and drive blood back to the heart.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Registered medical products are most often 0.1% nasal drops. Research suppliers ship lyophilized powder, usually in milligram quantities, which is dissolved before use. The active peptide is the same in both cases; presentation and excipients differ.
No. The peptide is synthetic, although it is modelled on a fragment of a naturally occurring hormone. ACTH(4-10) is generated when ACTH is cleaved, but the Pro-Gly-Pro extension is not a known endogenous sequence. It is therefore a designed analogue rather than a natural metabolite.
The label reflects reported effects on attention, memory and recovery after neurological injury in regional clinical reports. Those reports are mostly small and have not been widely replicated outside the region. The classification is descriptive and does not imply a single defined mechanism.
Semax is based on the ACTH(4-10) fragment, a seven-amino-acid segment of adrenocorticotropic hormone. The synthetic peptide retains the core sequence while removing regions associated with endocrine activity. This modification is intended to isolate effects on the nervous system.