Cerebrolysin

Cerebrolysin is not a single peptide but a standardised enzymatic breakdown of porcine brain protein, containing low-molecular-weight peptides and free amino acids. It is thought to act as a neurotrophic mimetic, reproducing some of the signalling of BDNF, GDNF and NGF, and has been studied for reducing apoptosis after ischaemic injury.

• Multiple randomised controlled trials in vascular dementia and Alzheimer's disease
• Meta-analyses report modest cognitive benefit in vascular dementia
• Studied in traumatic brain injury and stroke recovery
• Approved in a number of countries in Europe and Asia

• Cochrane reviews have repeatedly called the evidence base limited and heterogeneous
• Effect sizes are modest, not transformative
• No demonstrated benefit in healthy cognition — the trials are in impaired populations

Clinical protocols use 5–30 ml intramuscularly or by infusion, administered by a clinician over courses of 10–20 days.

Routes studied

Intramuscular, Subcutaneous

Half-life

Component-dependent; dosing is course-based rather than driven by half-life

Cycle length in the literature

Clinical courses of 10–20 days, repeated a few times per year

Working out a draw volume from a vial? Use the free reconstitution calculator.

Reported side effects

Do not use if

Trials that pair Cerebrolysin with structured rehabilitation consistently outperform trials that give the compound alone. That pattern is the whole thesis of this site in miniature: the molecule enables the change, the practice directs it.

• Regulate →
• Think →

What amplifies it

• BDNF & neuroplasticityHow BDNF-raising peptides open a plasticity window — and why what you do during that window determines whether anything changes.
• Nerve regenerationPeripheral nerves regenerate at roughly a millimetre a day. The central nervous system largely does not. What that means for peptides and practice.