# Ipamorelin References: The Cited Literature

> Ipamorelin references — the full source list behind this digest, with DOIs and PubMed links: the founding characterization, the human PK study, the Phase 2 trial, and the GH-axis literature.

The peer-reviewed studies behind this digest, with DOIs and PubMed identifiers.

## How to read this list

Every numbered citation below corresponds to a bracketed [N] used across this site. Several entries are studies of *related* growth-hormone-secretagogue peptides (GHRP-2, GHRP-6, hexarelin) rather than ipamorelin itself — those are used only for class-level principles and are labeled as such in the text. Where a study used a peptide other than ipamorelin, the body copy says so explicitly.

## References

[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. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9849822/
[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. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10496658/
[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. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25331030/
[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. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10373343/
[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. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39043357/
[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. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25722321/
[7] Chan CB, et al. Stimulation of growth hormone secretion from seabream pituitary cells in primary culture by growth hormone secretagogues is independent of growth hormone transcription. Comp Biochem Physiol C Toxicol Pharmacol. 2004;139:77-85. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15556068/
[8] Bowers CY, et al. Sustained elevation of pulsatile growth hormone (GH) secretion and insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I), IGF-binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3), and IGFBP-5 concentrations during 30-day continuous subcutaneous infusion of GH-releasing peptide-2 in older men and women. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2004;89:2290-2300. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15126555/
[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. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8762732/
[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. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7903313/
[11] Rico M, et al. Effect of growth hormone-releasing peptide 1-6 on GH secretion stimulated by GHRH and pyridostigmine in lambs. J Physiol Biochem. 1998;54:67-76. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9858126/
[12] Johansen PB, Hansen KT, Andersen JV, Johansen NL. Pharmacokinetic evaluation of ipamorelin and other peptidyl growth hormone secretagogues with emphasis on nasal absorption. Xenobiotica. 1998;28(11):1083-1091. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9879640/
[13] 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. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11751604/
[14] Malmlof K, Johansen PB, Haahr PM, Wilken M, Oxlund H. Methylprednisolone does not inhibit the release of growth hormone after intravenous injection of a novel growth hormone secretagogue in rats. Growth Horm IGF Res. 1999;9(6):396-403. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10629165/
[15] Mavrych V, et al. Therapeutic peptides in gerontology: mechanisms and applications for healthy aging. Front Aging. 2026;7:1790247. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42021992/
[16] 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. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15665799/
[17] 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. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11162489/

---

An optimistic, plain-English ordering of the ipamorelin record — the selective GH pulse logged where the studies confirm it, the cortisol and prolactin pathways left dark, the lone failed human trial kept in full view, and the community reports walled off as anecdote; a reading console pointed at the science, never a clinic, and nothing here dosed, prescribed, or sold.