ACTH analog comes up often in conversation and rarely with the context attached. Here we lay out the basics in order, then work through the practical considerations.
Last reviewed on 2025-11-21. Where a claim depends on a specific study, the study is described rather than over-claimed.
Semax 是一种人工合成的七肽，氨基酸序列为 Met-Glu-His-Phe-Pro-Gly-Pro，单字母缩写记作 MEHFPGP。它被归类为促肾上腺皮质激素片段 ACTH(4-10) 的结构类似物，但并不天然存在于生物体内。母体片段 ACTH(4-10) 的序列为 Met-Glu-His-Phe-Arg-Trp-Gly，Semax 替换了中间两个残基，并在羧基端延长了 Pro-Gly-Pro 三肽。这种延长被普遍认为能提升分子对肽酶的耐受性。
该化合物于二十世纪八十年代在俄罗斯被开发，相关工作由俄罗斯科学院分子遗传学研究所的研究团队主导。开发目标并非复制 ACTH 的完整激素活性，而是寻找保留其神经作用方向、同时去除促肾上腺皮质激素释放效应的短肽片段。研究记录显示，这一方向促成了多个相关短肽的合成与筛选，而 Semax 是其中被研究最广泛的一个。当地文献常以 Семакс 这一名称指代它。
研究兴趣主要集中在神经营养因子相关的路径上，包括脑源性神经营养因子与神经生长因子的表达变化。部分实验报告称在特定条件下观察到这些因子的水平上升，但具体信号通路和剂量依赖关系仍未完全厘清。多数公开数据来自细胞模型和动物实验，人体对照研究数量有限。因此，该化合物的作用机制在文献中属于活跃讨论，而非已经确立的定论。
Semax 是人工设计的七肽，序列为 Met-Glu-His-Phe-Pro-Gly-Pro，骨架取自促肾上腺皮质激素片段 ACTH(4-10)。它于二十世纪八十年代在苏联的分子遗传学研究机构内合成。设计目标是保留该片段与注意力和记忆相关的活性，同时剔除促皮质激素释放等内分泌作用。此后俄罗斯将其登记为药品并进入临床使用。
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。
| Property | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 化学类别 | 合成七肽 | ACTH(4-10) 结构类似物 |
| 氨基酸序列 | Met-Glu-His-Phe-Pro-Gly-Pro | 单字母写作 MEHFPGP |
| 分子量 | 约 813.9 Da | 随确切形式和盐型略有变化 |
| 常见同义词 | ACTH(4-10) 类似物 | 俄语文献称 Семакс |
| 开发来源 | 俄罗斯 | 二十世纪八十年代 |
Semax is a synthetic heptapeptide developed in the Soviet Union during the 1980s by researchers at the Institute of Molecular Genetics in Moscow. It was designed as a truncated analog of adrenocorticotropic hormone, retaining only the fragment spanning residues four through ten. Investigators sought a peptide that would preserve the cognitive effects associated with ACTH while eliminating the hormonal stimulation of the adrenal cortex. The compound entered clinical use in Russia during the following decade.
Russian regulatory authorities approved the peptide for nasal administration, and it remains listed in the national pharmacopoeia under several trade names. Documented indications include acute ischemic stroke, transient ischemic attacks, traumatic brain injury, and certain ophthalmological and neurological conditions. Physicians also prescribe it for cognitive complaints in older patients, although the evidence base for that use is thinner. Outside Russia and a few neighboring states, the substance is not an approved medicine and is sold instead as a research chemical.
Semax is a synthetic heptapeptide with the sequence Met-Glu-His-Phe-Pro-Gly-Pro. It is described in the literature as an analogue of the ACTH(4–10) fragment, a short N-terminal portion of adrenocorticotropic hormone that retains some neurotropic activity without the full hormonal effects of the parent peptide. The molecule carries a methionine residue at the N-terminus and two proline residues near the C-terminus, features that shape both its interactions with receptor systems and its chemical stability. The free peptide corresponds to the formula C37H51N9O10S and a molecular mass near 813.9 Da.
The compound was developed in the 1980s at the Institute of Molecular Genetics in Moscow, where it emerged from research on short ACTH fragments and their effects on the central nervous system. Russian pharmaceutical listings describe it as a nootropic and neuroprotective agent, most often formulated as nasal drops. It is not a marketed medicine in the United States or the European Union, and no pharmacopoeial monograph covers it. Consequently, most published clinical experience with the substance originates from a small number of research centres, mainly in Russia and neighbouring countries.
== Health and safety regulations == According to Merck Life Science UK 2020 Safety Data Sheet provided to the European Chemicals Agency's Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH)—a 2006 European Union regulation, ethylene oxide is "presumed to have carcinogenic potential for humans." The United States EPA published an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) in the 12 December 2019 Federal Register seeking to limit EtO emissions. Over the next couple of years, information was collected and a proposed air toxics rule published in the 13 April 2023 Federal Register. Following a 60 day comment period that could be extended, due to many comments requesting an extension, the EPA rules that could reduce EtO emissions, both direct and fugitive, by over 80% could be implemented within 18 months of publishing the final rule in the Federal Register. Laboratory EtO emitters would still be exempt from the stricter compliance. Additionally, while effectively curbing EtO emissions in the USA, many industrial emitters may simply shift their EtO production to nearby less strict countries: Canada, Mexico, etc. In 2024, U.S. probed claims that popular Indian curry brands MDH and Everest Spices carried ethylene oxide after Hong Kong and Singapore found the contamination in the products and took enforcement actions against them.
== Variations == Variants of the azlactone synthesis in which analogues of azlactones are used are sometimes advantageous. Hydantoin (in Bergmann modification), thiohydantoin and rhodanine have each been employed as the enolate-forming component of the condensation.
However, the "absolute zero" on the Kelvin temperature scale was originally defined in terms of the second law of thermodynamics, which Thomson himself described in 1852. Thomson did not assume that this was equal to the "zero-volume point" of Charles's law, merely said that Charles's law provided the minimum temperature which could be attained. The two can be shown to be equivalent by Ludwig Boltzmann's statistical view of entropy (1870). However, Charles also stated:
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Member of the State Committee on Vocational Education (1948–1951) Member of numerous committees for the foundation of new industries in postwar Greece (throughout the 1950s) First Vice-President of the National Hellenic Research Foundation (1958–1968), of which he was a key founder Minister of Industry in the Paraskevopoulos technocratic caretaker government (1963–1964) President of the Greek Atomic Energy Commission (1964–1965) The democratic ideals of Zervas made him a target of the military junta established in 1967, which removed him from his position in the University of Athens in 1968 after almost three decades of dedicated research and teaching. In response, the Academy of Athens of which Zervas had been a member since 1956 elected him as its president in 1970. After his term as President of the Academy, Zervas retired in 1971.
== Treatment == Treatment for Ullrich congenital muscular dystrophy can consist of physical therapy and regular stretching to prevent and reduce contractures. Respiratory support may be needed at some point by the affected individual. Non-invasive ventilation (NIV), typically in the form of bilevel positive airway pressure (BiPAP), is the most commonly used form of respiratory support, with ventilation via a tracheostomy used in some cases. While primary cardiomyopathy is not a typical feature of this type of CMD, chronic respiratory insufficiency can lead to secondary right heart strain, which NIV also helps to prevent.
That same year, Hafezi was part of a research group that identified the visual cycle enzyme RPE65 as essential component of light-induced retinal degeneration. The article was published in Nature Genetics. In 2001, his work investigating the molecular pathways that underpin light-induced retinal photoreceptor apoptosis continued with a paper published in Cell Death & Differentiation showing that AP-1 mediated retinal photoreceptor apoptosis was independent of N-terminal phosphorylation of one of its components, c-Jun. Later that year, he and a team of researchers utilized a mouse strain with a single base change in codon 450 of the RPE65 gene (the Leu450Met variation) in which RPE65 regenerates rhodopsin at a far slower rate than wild-type animals; this mutation was observed to increase retinal resistance against light-induced degeneration, and demonstrating that the light damage susceptibility of the retina is tied to rhodopsin regeneration kinetics.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
不是。Semax 是完全人工合成的七肽，自然界中没有对应的已知肽段。它的设计灵感来自促肾上腺皮质激素片段 ACTH(4-10)，但序列经过了替换和延长。
Semax 被描述为 ACTH(4-10) 的结构类似物，两者共享部分序列特征。它保留了该片段的部分神经相关活性方向，但去除了完整片段带来的激素释放效应。二者并非同一物质，也不能互相替代。
加入的 Pro-Gly-Pro 三肽被普遍认为能提升分子对蛋白水解酶的稳定性。这种设计让短肽在体内维持时间更长。具体延长的程度以及不同组织中是否一致，文献中仍存在不同报告。
不存在。它是依据 ACTH 的一段序列人工设计的分子，天然蛋白质中找不到与之完全相同的七肽。名称属于研究代号，而非天然物质名。