What is GHRH (Growth Hormone-Releasing Hormone)?

The 44-amino-acid hypothalamic hormone that tells the pituitary to release growth hormone; sermorelin and tesamorelin are analogs.

GHRH (Growth Hormone-Releasing Hormone) in the library · · Human Trials · What are peptides?

17 registered trials · 445 indexed papers · 544 human / 164 animal studies

From the PeptideWhiz library entry. "As described" sections summarize claims made in the sources; they are not PeptideWhiz endorsements.

What it is

The 44-amino-acid hypothalamic hormone that tells the pituitary to release growth hormone; sermorelin and tesamorelin are analogs.

Type: Peptide hormone.

Definition (National Library of Medicine)

“A peptide of 44 amino acids in most species that stimulates the release and synthesis of growth hormone. ghrf (or grf) is synthesized by neurons in the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus. After being released into the pituitary portal circulation, ghrf stimulates GH release by the somatotrophs in the pituitary gland.”

MeSH: Growth Hormone-Releasing Hormone

Human research

The registered human trials and peer-reviewed human studies linked below are listed from ClinicalTrials.gov and PubMed. A study is linked only when GHRH (Growth Hormone-Releasing Hormone) is one of its interventions, or is named in the study title or subject headings.

Listing a study does not mean it showed a benefit, and it is not medical advice.

Registered human trials (17)

Trial	Phase	Status	Year	Enrolled
Study of Intranasal Octreotide (DP1038) in Healthy Adult Volunteers	Phase 1	completed	2017	32
Dehydroepiandrosterone Versus Growth Hormone in Women Undergoing ICSI With Expected Poor Ovarian Response	Phase 3	unknown	2016	210
Estradiol-Receptor Blockade in Older Men and Women	Phase 1	completed	2014	40
Observational Longitudinal Study in Children Affected by Idiopathic Growth Hormone Deficiency (GHD)		completed	2014	48
Three Month Treatment of Growth Hormone Releasing Hormone (GHRH) in the Elderly	Phase 2	terminated	2011	13
VRS-317 in Adult Subjects With Growth Hormone Deficiency	Phase 1	completed	2011	50
Effects of Short-term Growth Hormone in HIV-infected Patients		completed	2009	25
Effectiveness of Growth Hormone Releasing Hormone in Reducing Abdominal Fat in People Who Are Obese	Phase 2	completed	2008	60
Adult Growth Hormone Deficiency and Cardiovascular Risk	Phase 4	terminated	2007	7
Investigation of a New, Oral Growth Hormone Secretagogue, AEZS-130 as a Growth Hormone Stimulation Test.	Phase 3	completed	2007	101
Six Month Treatment of Growth Hormone Releasing Hormone (GHRH) in the Elderly	Phase 2	terminated	2007	5
Sexually Dimorphic Effects of GHRH in Adult Growth Hormone Testing		completed	2007	90
SMART: Somatotrophics, Memory, and Aging Research Trial	Phase 2	completed	2006	151
The Effect of GHRH Therapy on Myocardial Structure and Function in Congestive Heart Failure	Phase 2	completed	2004	3
Comparative Validation of the Growth Hormone Releasing Hormone and Arginine Test for the Diagnosis of Adult Growth Hormone Deficiency	Phase 3	completed	2004	69
Diagnosing Adult Growth Hormone Deficiency		completed	2001	160
Growth Hormone Releasing Hormone (GHRH) Treatment for Age-Related Sleep Disturbances		completed	1996

Peer-reviewed studies (445)

Paper	Authors	Journal	Year	Type
Tesamorelin as an Adjunct to Exercise for Improving Physical Function in HIV (TRIUMPH): a clinical trial protocol	Erlandson KM et al.	BMJ open	2026	Clinical Study
Efficacy and safety of once-weekly somatrogon in adults with growth hormone deficiency: a randomized phase 3 study	Fleseriu M et al.	Pituitary	2026	Randomized Controlled Trial
Effects of Tesamorelin on Neurocognitive Impairment in Persons With HIV and Abdominal Obesity	Ellis RJ et al.	The Journal of infectious diseases	2025	Randomized Controlled Trial
Efficacy and safety of tesamorelin in people with HIV on integrase inhibitors	Russo SC et al.	AIDS (London, England)	2024	Randomized Controlled Trial
Novel Platform for Predicting Drug Effects in Patients with Acromegaly: Translational Exposure-Response Evaluation of Growth Hormone-Inhibitory Effect of Octreotide after Growth Hormone-Releasing Hormone Stimulation	Iida H et al.	The Journal of pharmacology and experimental therapeutics	2021	Randomized Controlled Trial
Growth Hormone Releasing Hormone Reduces Circulating Markers of Immune Activation in Parallel with Effects on Hepatic Immune Pathways in Individuals with HIV-infection and Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease	Stanley TL et al.	Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America	2021	Randomized Controlled Trial
Relationship of IGF-1 and IGF-Binding Proteins to Disease Severity and Glycemia in Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease	Stanley TL et al.	The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism	2021	Randomized Controlled Trial
Immune dyscrasia in adult growth hormone deficiency: Evaluation of hemolytic complement activity (CH50) and IgG subclasses	Vergani E et al.	Biomedicine & pharmacotherapy = Biomedecine & pharmacotherapie	2020	Observational Study
Effects of tesamorelin on hepatic transcriptomic signatures in HIV-associated NAFLD	Fourman LT et al.	JCI insight	2020	Randomized Controlled Trial
Effects of tesamorelin on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in HIV: a randomised, double-blind, multicentre trial	Stanley TL et al.	The lancet. HIV	2019	Randomized Controlled Trial
The Growth Hormone Releasing Hormone Analogue, Tesamorelin, Decreases Muscle Fat and Increases Muscle Area in Adults with HIV	Adrian S et al.	The Journal of frailty & aging	2019	Randomized Controlled Trial
GHRH-mediated GH release is associated with sympathoactivation and baroreflex resetting: a microneurographic study in healthy humans	Meusel M et al.	American journal of physiology. Regulatory, integrative and comparative physiology	2019	Controlled Clinical Trial
Growth Hormone-Releasing Hormone Modulation of Neuronal Exosome Biomarkers in Mild Cognitive Impairment	Winston CN et al.	Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD	2018	Randomized Controlled Trial
Aromatized Estrogens Amplify Nocturnal Growth Hormone Secretion in Testosterone-Replaced Older Hypogonadal Men	Roelfsema F et al.	The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism	2018	Randomized Controlled Trial
Fibroblast growth factor 21 decreases after liver fat reduction via growth hormone augmentation	Braun LR et al.	Growth hormone & IGF research : official journal of the Growth Hormone Research Society and the International IGF Research Society	2017	Randomized Controlled Trial
Gender has to be taken into account in diagnosing adult growth hormone deficiency by the GHRH plus arginine test	Markkanen HM et al.	Growth hormone & IGF research : official journal of the Growth Hormone Research Society and the International IGF Research Society	2017	Controlled Clinical Trial
Safety and metabolic effects of tesamorelin, a growth hormone-releasing factor analogue, in patients with type 2 diabetes: A randomized, placebo-controlled trial	Clemmons DR et al.	PloS one	2017	Randomized Controlled Trial
Predictors of Treatment Response to Tesamorelin, a Growth Hormone-Releasing Factor Analog, in HIV-Infected Patients with Excess Abdominal Fat	Mangili A et al.	PloS one	2015	Randomized Controlled Trial
Population pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic analysis of tesamorelin in HIV-infected patients and healthy subjects	González-Sales M et al.	Journal of pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics	2015	Clinical Trial, Phase I
Population pharmacokinetic analysis of tesamorelin in HIV-infected patients and healthy subjects	González-Sales M et al.	Clinical pharmacokinetics	2015	Randomized Controlled Trial
Estrogen-like potentiation of ghrelin-stimulated GH secretion by fulvestrant, a putatively selective ER antagonist, in postmenopausal women	Veldhuis JD et al.	The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism	2014	Randomized Controlled Trial
Effect of tesamorelin on visceral fat and liver fat in HIV-infected patients with abdominal fat accumulation: a randomized clinical trial	Stanley TL et al.	JAMA	2014	Randomized Controlled Trial
Growth hormone response to standard provocative stimuli and combined tests in very young children with Prader-Willi syndrome	Di Giorgio G et al.	Hormone research in paediatrics	2014	Clinical Trial
Short-term estradiol supplementation potentiates low-dose ghrelin action in the presence of GHRH or somatostatin in older women	Norman C et al.	The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism	2014	Randomized Controlled Trial
The effects of tesamorelin on phosphocreatine recovery in obese subjects with reduced GH	Makimura H et al.	The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism	2014	Randomized Controlled Trial
Estradiol regulates GH-releasing peptide's interactions with GH-releasing hormone and somatostatin in postmenopausal women	Norman C et al.	European journal of endocrinology	2014	Randomized Controlled Trial
Body fat mass is a strong and negative predictor of peak stimulated growth hormone and bone mineral density in healthy adolescents during transition period	Perotti M et al.	Hormone and metabolic research = Hormon- und Stoffwechselforschung = Hormones et metabolisme	2013	Clinical Trial
Comparison of two growth hormone stimulation tests and their cut-off limits in healthy adults at an outpatient clinic	Markkanen HM et al.	Growth hormone & IGF research : official journal of the Growth Hormone Research Society and the International IGF Research Society	2013	Clinical Trial
Growth hormone-releasing hormone effects on brain γ-aminobutyric acid levels in mild cognitive impairment and healthy aging	Friedman SD et al.	JAMA neurology	2013	Randomized Controlled Trial
Metabolic alterations in patients who develop traumatic brain injury (TBI)-induced hypopituitarism	Prodam F et al.	Growth hormone & IGF research : official journal of the Growth Hormone Research Society and the International IGF Research Society	2013	Clinical Trial

More cited research

Conditions researched

Related compounds

FAQ

What is GHRH (Growth Hormone-Releasing Hormone)?

The 44-amino-acid hypothalamic hormone that tells the pituitary to release growth hormone; sermorelin and tesamorelin are analogs.

How many registered human trials study GHRH (Growth Hormone-Releasing Hormone)?

The PeptideWhiz trial index lists 17 registered trials for GHRH (Growth Hormone-Releasing Hormone), the most recent from 2017.

How much published research exists on GHRH (Growth Hormone-Releasing Hormone)?

The PeptideWhiz paper index links 445 PubMed papers to GHRH (Growth Hormone-Releasing Hormone); by study type, 544 human and 164 animal studies.

Which conditions is GHRH (Growth Hormone-Releasing Hormone) researched for?

Anemia, Anti-aging & longevity, Anxiety and panic, Atherosclerosis, cardiovascular disease & high blood pressure, Cognition, focus & brain performance, Concussion, traumatic brain injury & stroke recovery, Dementia, Alzheimer's & cognitive decline, Fat loss, obesity & body recomposition, Fatty liver & elevated liver enzymes, Female fertility, Heart repair: after heart attack, heart failure & enlarged heart, Immune system (general), Insulin resistance, prediabetes & type 2 diabetes, Kidney protection (CKD, diabetic kidney, lupus kidney), Low testosterone (without or alongside TRT), Menopause & perimenopause, Migraine, Osteoporosis and bone density, Parkinson's disease, PCOS, Post-surgical inflammation and surgery recovery, Sleep problems (incl. insomnia on peptides), Thyroid problems.

Research and education only. Not medical advice. No dosing guidance. Data: ClinicalTrials.gov registry and PubMed via the PeptideWhiz index (204,289 studies).

Reported dosing ranges from research