Semax for stroke recovery

What the evidence says

Evidence tier: Strong clinical. Multiple human studies support the dosing protocol; not yet FDA-labeled for this exact indication but close.

• Semax is a heptapeptide (seven amino acids) derived from ACTH (a natural pituitary hormone) - developed in Russia in the 1980s.
• Approved as a prescription drug in Russia for ischemic stroke recovery and cognitive disorders.
• Russian RCTs (Gusev et al., 2005) showed improved neurological recovery scores when added to standard stroke care.

Protocol notes

Intranasal spray, 600-900mcg per day during acute and subacute stroke phase. Hospital-administered in Russia.

Always with a sports-medicine doctor, telehealth provider, or specialist sign-off. Self-experimenting on injection schedules without clinical input is the most common way people waste money and get hurt.

What to skip

• Vendors without a Certificate of Analysis (COA). Random gym-bro vendors with no third-party testing. The peptide market has a quality-control problem; the answer is COA per peptide, every time.
• Pre-mixed blends from non-pharmacy sources. Compounding pharmacies that produce pre-mixed combinations with COAs are fine. Random vendor "stack vials" are not.
• Massively over-dosed protocols. More is rarely better with peptides. Receptor saturation is real. Stick to evidence-based dosing.

Where to go next

• Full Semax directory entry - status, sourcing, studies, what to skip
• What are peptides - if you skipped the foundation
• How peptides actually work - mechanism in plain English
• The Tier List - which ones to take seriously
• Subscribe to the dispatch