Skip to main

Ipamorelin reading list

Original experiments first; reviews and neighboring compounds with their identities intact.

The patient and volunteer papers

The two human anchors are the bowel-surgery trial and the healthy-volunteer blood study. They are the human ipamorelin anchors in this list, and they asked different questions: recovery of eating after surgery in one, blood concentration and hormone response in the other.

The 1998 selectivity experiments explain why the compound attracted attention. The rat bone-growth study and ferret weight-loss experiment show how varied the animal questions became.

Neighboring compounds

The heart-toxicity paper tested another ghrelin-receptor agonist. The hexarelin combination study and other hormone-pair experiments likewise concern their named compounds. I value them as context while preserving those identities.

The 2026 orthopaedic review, aging review, and sports-medicine primer place the early findings beside the remaining clinical gaps. The full bibliography follows below.

  1. Raun K, Hansen BS, Johansen NL, Thogersen H, Madsen K, Ankersen M, Andersen PH. Ipamorelin, the first selective growth hormone secretagogue. Eur J Endocrinol. 1998;139(5):552-561. ↗
  2. Gobburu JV, Agerso H, Jusko WJ, Ynddal L. Pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic modeling of ipamorelin, a growth hormone releasing peptide, in human volunteers. Pharm Res. 1999;16(9):1412-1416. ↗
  3. Beck DE, Sweeney WB, McCarter MD; Ipamorelin 201 Study Group. Prospective, randomized, controlled, proof-of-concept study of the ghrelin mimetic ipamorelin for the management of postoperative ileus in bowel resection patients. Int J Colorectal Dis. 2014;29(12):1527-1534. ↗
  4. Johansen PB, Nowak J, Skjaerbaek C, Flyvbjerg A, Andreassen TT, Wilken M, Orskov H. Ipamorelin, a new growth-hormone-releasing peptide, induces longitudinal bone growth in rats. Growth Horm IGF Res. 1999;9(2):106-113. ↗
  5. Lu Z, Ngan MP, Liu JYH, Yang L, Tu L, Chan SW, Giuliano C, Lovati E, Pietra C, Rudd JA. The growth hormone secretagogue receptor 1a agonists, anamorelin and ipamorelin, inhibit cisplatin-induced weight loss in ferrets: Anamorelin also exhibits anti-emetic effects via a central mechanism. Physiol Behav. 2024;284:114644. ↗
  6. Stokes AH, Falls JG, Yoon L, Cariello N, Faiola B, Colton HM, Jordan HL, Berridge BR. Integrated approach to early detection of cardiovascular toxicity induced by a ghrelin receptor agonist. Int J Toxicol. 2015;34(2):151-161. ↗
  7. Hansen BS, et al. Pharmacological characterisation of a new oral GH secretagogue, NN703. Eur J Endocrinol. 1999;141:180-189. ↗
  8. Johansen PB, et al. Growth hormone (GH) hypersecretion and GH receptor resistance in streptozotocin diabetic mice in response to a GH secretagogue. Exp Diabesity Res. 2003;4:73-81. ↗
  9. Massoud AF, et al. The effect of repeated administration of hexarelin, a growth hormone releasing peptide, and growth hormone releasing hormone on growth hormone responsivity. Clin Endocrinol (Oxf). 1996;44:555-562. ↗
  10. Jaffe CA, et al. Effects of a prolonged growth hormone (GH)-releasing peptide infusion on pulsatile GH secretion in normal men. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1993;77:1641-1647. ↗
  11. Bowers CY, et al. GHRP-2, GHRH and SRIF interrelationships during chronic administration of GHRP-2 to humans. J Pediatr Endocrinol Metab. 1996;9 Suppl 3:261-270. ↗
  12. Massoud AF, et al. Interaction of the growth hormone releasing peptide hexarelin with somatostatin. Clin Endocrinol (Oxf). 1997;47:537-547. ↗
  13. Adeghate E, Ponery AS. Mechanism of ipamorelin-evoked insulin release from the pancreas of normal and diabetic rats. Neuro Endocrinol Lett. 2004;25(6):403-406. ↗
  14. Lall S, Tung LY, Ohlsson C, Jansson JO, Dickson SL. Growth hormone (GH)-independent stimulation of adiposity by GH secretagogues. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2001;280(1):132-138. ↗
  15. Lawrence CB, Snape AC, Baudoin FM, Luckman SM. Acute central ghrelin and GH secretagogues induce feeding and activate brain appetite centers. Endocrinology. 2002;143(1):155-162. ↗
  16. Rahman OF, et al. Therapeutic Peptides in Orthopaedics: Applications, Challenges, and Future Directions. JAAOS Glob Res Rev. 2026. ↗
  17. Mavrych V, et al. Therapeutic peptides in gerontology: mechanisms and applications for healthy aging. Front Aging. 2026. ↗
  18. Mayfield CK, et al. Injectable Peptide Therapy: A Primer for Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Physicians. Am J Sports Med. 2026. ↗