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.
- 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. ↗
- 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. ↗
- 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. ↗
- 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. ↗
- 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. ↗
- 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. ↗
- Hansen BS, et al. Pharmacological characterisation of a new oral GH secretagogue, NN703. Eur J Endocrinol. 1999;141:180-189. ↗
- 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. ↗
- 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. ↗
- 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. ↗
- 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. ↗
- Massoud AF, et al. Interaction of the growth hormone releasing peptide hexarelin with somatostatin. Clin Endocrinol (Oxf). 1997;47:537-547. ↗
- 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. ↗
- 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. ↗
- 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. ↗
- Rahman OF, et al. Therapeutic Peptides in Orthopaedics: Applications, Challenges, and Future Directions. JAAOS Glob Res Rev. 2026. ↗
- Mavrych V, et al. Therapeutic peptides in gerontology: mechanisms and applications for healthy aging. Front Aging. 2026. ↗
- Mayfield CK, et al. Injectable Peptide Therapy: A Primer for Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Physicians. Am J Sports Med. 2026. ↗