The short version of ACTH(4-10) fits in a sentence. The long version — which is the one that helps — is below.
Reviewed 2026-06-03. Anything still debated is marked as such rather than presented as settled.
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.
Reported pharmacological work centers on neurotrophic signaling, including changes in BDNF and NGF expression in hippocampal tissue in animal models. Human data come largely from studies conducted in Russia, and how well those results generalize to other populations remains an open question. Regulatory status differs sharply by jurisdiction: Semax is a registered prescription medicine in Russia, while it holds no approved marketing status in the United States or the European Union. Outside such jurisdictions it is generally handled as a research chemical, which affects both documentation and quality expectations.
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.
Semax is a synthetic heptapeptide with the sequence Met-Glu-His-Phe-Pro-Gly-Pro. Its chain combines the first seven residues of corticotropin with a C-terminal proline-glycine-proline extension, a modification intended to slow enzymatic breakdown. The free peptide has a molecular mass near 813.9 daltons. It belongs to the class of ACTH-derived fragments studied for central nervous system activity rather than for adrenal steroid stimulation. This structural relationship to a natural hormone fragment is the usual starting point for describing the compound in the literature.
Development took place during the 1980s at institutes of the Russian Academy of Sciences, where peptide fragments of ACTH were screened for cognitive and neuroprotective effects. The compound received regulatory approval in Russia as a nasal preparation, marketed for conditions such as ischemic stroke, transient ischemic attacks, and optic nerve disorders. Registration in other countries has not followed. Most published clinical reports originate from a small number of Russian research groups, and independent replication outside that setting remains limited. The regulatory status therefore differs sharply between Russia and the rest of the world.
| Property | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Molecular weight | ~813.9 Da (free heptapeptide) | N-acetylated form is about 42 Da heavier |
| Residue count | 7 (heptapeptide) | Four residues from ACTH(4-10), three added |
| Appearance | White to off-white powder | Usually supplied lyophilized |
| Solubility class | Freely soluble in water | Also dissolves in DMSO and polar organic solvents |
| Related parent fragment | ACTH(4-10) | Parent motif is Met-Glu-His-Phe |
当时的短肽研究普遍关注能否穿越血脑屏障、在低剂量下产生中枢效应，Semax 属于这一路线。鼻内给药是其主要使用方式，俄语文献报道的适应症涵盖缺血性卒中、短暂性脑缺血发作、认知功能减退以及视神经病变。这些研究大多发表在当地期刊上，样本规模与终点设置同西方试验惯例存在差异，国际同行对其临床证据的强度看法不一。
各国监管态度分化明显。俄罗斯按处方药管理，部分东欧国家留有使用记录；欧盟与美国未批准其作为药物上市，市面流通品通常标注为研究用化学品。身份差异意味着标示含量、纯度与无菌性缺少统一核查。体育领域还牵涉反兴奋剂名录，跨境携带则受目的地药品法规约束。
=== Certification of 2020 presidential election === On January 6, 2021, Wittman was one of the 147 Republican members of the U.S. Congress who objected to certifying the 2020 presidential election. He voted against certifying Pennsylvania's electors after a day of violence as the U.S. Capitol was breached by Trump supporters who disrupted proceedings, despite no clear evidence of widespread voter fraud.
Giving adrenaline (epinephrine) to prevent adverse reactions to antivenom before they occur might be reasonable in cases where they occur commonly. Antihistamines do not appear to provide any benefit in preventing adverse reactions.
=== Infections and Disease === Type 1 diabetes is correlated with DM activation, which is hypothesized to be due to DM positively modulating the expression of disease-causing peptides in the MHC groove and thus presented to responding T cells. Experiments using the mouse model of type 1 diabetes which blocked DM or reduced its activity by overexpressing DO found a decrease in diabetes. HLA-DM is implicated in viral infections like Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1. This virus causes uneven distribution of HLA-DM in endosomes, prevents peptide catalysis, and prevents presentation of MHC class II molecules on the cell surface. HLA-DM is also implicated in celiac disease, multiple sclerosis, other autoimmune diseases, and leukemia.
== Complications == Vaginal support structures can be damaged or weakened during childbirth or pelvic surgery. Other conditions that repeatedly strain or increase pressure in the pelvic area can also compromise support. Examples are:
MDMA is an entactogen or empathogen, as well as a stimulant, euphoriant, and weak psychedelic. It is a substrate of the monoamine transporters (MATs) and acts as a monoamine releasing agent (MRA). The drug is specifically a well-balanced serotonin–norepinephrine–dopamine releasing agent (SNDRA). To a lesser extent, MDMA also acts as a serotonin–norepinephrine–dopamine reuptake inhibitor (SNDRI). MDMA enters monoaminergic neurons via the MATs and then, via poorly understood mechanisms, reverses the direction of these transporters to produce efflux of the monoamine neurotransmitters rather than the usual reuptake. Induction of monoamine efflux by amphetamines in general may involve intracellular Na+ and Ca2+ elevation and PKC and CaMKIIα activation. MDMA also acts on the vesicular monoamine transporter 2 (VMAT2) on synaptic vesicles to increase the cytosolic concentrations of the monoamine neurotransmitters available for efflux. By inducing release and reuptake inhibition of serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine, MDMA increases levels of these neurotransmitters in the brain and periphery and thereby indirectly activates the receptors of these neurotransmitters. There are species differences in the balance of MAT activities of MDMA, with it showing greater influence on serotonin in rodents than in humans. In addition to its actions as an SNDRA, MDMA directly interacts with a number of monoamine and other receptors.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
… Current milk-testing equipment measures peptide bonds, a direct measure of true protein." Measuring peptide bonds in grains has also been put into practice in several countries including Canada, the UK, Australia, Russia and Argentina where near-infrared reflectance (NIR) technology, a type of infrared spectroscopy is used. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) recommends that only amino acid analysis be used to determine protein in, inter alia, foods used as the sole source of nourishment, such as infant formula, but also provides: "When data on amino acids analyses are not available, determination of protein based on total N content by Kjeldahl (AOAC, 2000) or similar method … is considered acceptable."
Chloromorphide (α-chloromorphide) is an opiate analog that is a derivative of morphine, where the 6-hydroxy group has been replaced by chlorine. Developed in 1933 in Germany, it has approximately ten times the potency of morphine. It has similar effects to morphine, such as sedation, analgesia, and respiratory depression. Chloromorphide does not appear specifically in the Controlled Substances Act 1970 in the United States, but is presumably Schedule II controlled substance as a form of morphine or an analogue of morphine or morphinan. When halogenated morphides and codides are used for research or industrial uses, they are often synthesised on-site. Chloromorphide is one of a series of opioids known as morphides and codides, which are important precursors and intermediates in the synthesis of semi-synthetic opioid analgesic drugs, especially those with additions, substitutions, or other modifications at the 7, 8, and/or 14 positions on the morphine carbon skeleton. Semisynthetics with changes at other positions can also be made from these compounds. The codeine analog of chloromorphide is α-chlorocodide (alpha-chlorcodide), an intermediate in one method of desomorphine synthesis which uses codeine as precursor. During the 1930s, the entire series of alpha- and beta-halogenated codides, morphides, dihydromorphides, and dihydrocodides were produced and described, and α-bromomorphide and α-iodomorphide are sometimes currently used in research and manufacturing.
Post-translational modifications (PTMs) are covalent modifications to proteins. Like RNA splicing, they help to significantly diversify the proteome. These modifications are usually catalyzed by enzymes. Additionally, processes like covalent additions to amino acid side chain residues can often be reversed by other enzymes. However, some, like the proteolytic cleavage of the protein backbone, are irreversible. PTMs play many important roles in the cell. For example, phosphorylation is primarily involved in activating and deactivating proteins and in signaling pathways. PTMs are involved in transcriptional regulation: an important function of acetylation and methylation is histone tail modification, which alters how accessible DNA is for transcription. They can also be seen in the immune system, where glycosylation plays a key role. One type of PTM can initiate another type of PTM, as can be seen in how ubiquitination tags proteins for degradation through proteolysis. Proteolysis, other than being involved in breaking down proteins, is also important in activating and deactivating them, and in regulating biological processes such as DNA transcription and cell death.
=== As biochemical reactors === Synthetic condensates offer a way to probe cellular function and organization with high spatial and temporal control, but can also be used to modify or add functionality to the cell. One way this is accomplished is by modifying the condensate networks to include binding sites for other proteins of interest, thus allowing the condensate to serve as a scaffold for protein release or recruitment. These binding sites can be modified to be sensitive to light activation or small molecule addition, thus giving temporal control over the recruitment of a specific protein of interest. By recruiting specific proteins to condensates, reactants can be concentrated to increase reaction rates or sequestered to inhibit reactivity. More importantly, by spatially organizing the proximity of enzymes in a complex pathway, synthetic condensates can be used to direct the metabolic flux of branched reactions. In an extreme example of using RNA-based synthetic organelle TEARS to organize violacine biosynthesis pathway in E. coli, the side reaction that produces deoxychromoviridans over the desired product deoxyviolacine can be abolished completely by TEARs. In addition to protein recruitment, condensates can also be designed which release proteins in response to certain stimuli. In this case, a protein of interest can be fused to a scaffold protein via a photocleavable linker. Upon irradiation, the linker is broken, and the protein is released from the condensate.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
== History == Although the applications of pharmacometabolomics to personalized medicine are largely only being realized now, the study of an individual's metabolism has been used to treat disease since the Middle Ages. Early physicians employed a primitive form of metabolomic analysis by smelling, tasting and looking at urine to diagnose disease. Obviously the measurement techniques needed to look at specific metabolites were unavailable at that time, but such technologies have evolved dramatically over the last decade to develop precise, high-throughput devices, as well as the accompanying data analysis software to analyze output. Currently, sample purification processes, such as liquid or gas chromatography, are coupled with either mass spectrometry (MS)-based or nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)-based analytical methods to characterize the metabolite profiles of individual patients. Continually advancing informatics tools allow for the identification, quantification and classification of metabolites to determine which pathways may influence certain pharmaceutical interventions. One of the earliest studies discussing the principle and applications of pharmacometabolomics was conducted in an animal model to look at the metabolism of paracetamol and liver damage. NMR spectroscopy was used to analyze the urinary metabolic profiles of rats pre- and post-treatment with paracetamol. The analysis revealed a certain metabolic profile associated with increased liver damage following paracetamol treatment.
Russia under Putin has reverted to Tsarism." Ferguson wrote that this Cold War is different from the original Cold War because the US "is so intertwined with China" at the point where "decoupling" is as others argued "a delusion" and because "America's traditional allies are much less eager to align themselves with Washington and against Beijing". He further wrote that the new Cold War "shifted away from trade to technology" when both the US and China signed their Phase One trade deal. In a February 2020 interview with The Japan Times, Ferguson suggested that, to "contain China", the US "work intelligently with its Asian and European allies", as the US had done in the original Cold War, rather than on its own and perform something more effective than "tariffs, which are a very blunt instrument". He also said that the US under Trump has been "rather poor" at making foreign relations. On 24 May 2020, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that relations with the US were on the "brink of a new Cold War" after it was fueled by tensions over the COVID-19 pandemic. In June 2020, Boston College political scientist Robert S. Ross wrote that the US and China "are destined to compete [but] not destined for violent conflict or a cold war". In July, Ross said that the Trump "administration would like to fully decouple from China.
=== Ukraine === The Armed Forces of Ukraine's combat ration was based on a previous Russian version, consisting of commercially available cans and dried foods packed together in a sectioned box (resembles a takeout tray) made of very thin green plastic. Inside were: two 250 g mmin meal cans (boiled buckwheat groats and buckwheat w/beef); two 100 g cans of meat spread (liver pâté and beef in lard); a 160 g can of herring or mackerel; six 50 g packages small, hard crackers (resemble oyster crackers); two foil pouches (20 g each) of jam or jelly; six boiled sweets two tea bags; an envelope of instant cherry juice powder; a chicken flavour bouillon cube; two packets of sugar; and three dining packets, each with a plastic spoon, a napkin, and a moist towelette. In 2018, the Ukrainian military improved their ration contents to be more in line with NATO standards, with different menus for each day in a week. By the Russian invasion of Ukraine, according to a BBC News correspondent who received a field ration from a Ukrainian soldier, the contents of a typical Ukrainian field rations included "wheat porridge with beef; rice and meat soup; beef stew; chicken with vegetables; pork and vegetables; crackers; biscuits; tea bags; coffee; blackcurrant drink; honey; sugar; black pepper; chewing gum; bar of dark chocolate; plastic spoons; [and] moist wipes".
Positive psychology is the branch of psychology dedicated to the study of well-being and related phenomena, like happiness and flourishing. It examines the factors and conditions of optimal human functioning. This inquiry focuses both on individual factors, like the experience of pleasure and pain and the role of character traits, and on societal factors, such as the way social institutions influence human well-being. At the emotional level, positive psychologists examine the different types of positive emotions, such as joy, amusement, and love. They seek to understand the conditions under which positive emotions arise, how they contribute to overall well-being, and how they differ from negative emotions. At the cognitive level, positive psychology studies how intelligence, wisdom, and creativity improve quality of life. It further explores the relation between cognitive and affective processes, for example, how cognitive interpretations evoke emotions and how emotions prompt thought processes. Another central subfield concerns the role of personality, in particular, how individuals differ regarding personality traits and how these traits impact well-being. The VIA model, an influential framework in positive psychology, analyzes personality based on six main virtues: wisdom, courage, humanity, justice, temperance, and transcendence. A closely related topic focuses on the role of the self, which encompasses the way a person conceptualizes and imagines themselves.
A qullqa (Quechua pronunciation: [ˈqʊʎˌqa] "deposit, storehouse"; (spelling variants: colca, collca, qolca, qollca) was a storage building found along roads and near the cities and political centers of the Inca Empire. These were large stone buildings with roofs thatched with "ichu" grass, or what is known as Peruvian feathergrass (Jarava ichu). To a "prodigious [extent] unprecedented in the annals of world prehistory" the Incas stored food and other commodities which could be distributed to their armies, officials, conscripted laborers, and, in times of need, to the populace. The uncertainty of agriculture at the high altitudes which comprised most of the Inca Empire was among the factors which probably stimulated the construction of large numbers of qullqas.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
The sequence is Met-Glu-His-Phe-Pro-Gly-Pro, a seven-residue peptide. The first four residues correspond to the ACTH(4-10) fragment, and Pro-Gly-Pro is added at the C-terminus. N-acetylated versions also appear in the literature and differ in mass.
Semax is a synthetic analog of the ACTH(4-10) fragment rather than a copy of the full hormone. Truncation plus the added tail removes the steroidogenic portion of ACTH. That distinction explains why it is studied for nervous-system effects instead of adrenal stimulation.
It is registered as a prescription product in Russia and has been used there clinically, chiefly by the intranasal route. No approval exists in the United States or the European Union. Availability elsewhere typically falls under research-chemical distribution, with varying purity documentation.
Semax is a synthetic seven-amino-acid peptide derived from a fragment of corticotropin. It is used in Russia as a nasal preparation, while elsewhere it is studied as a research compound. It is not approved as a medicine in most countries.