Sermorelin dosage: the doses used in the research literature

The short version

This page reports the sermorelin dosage figures that appear in published studies, and nothing more. It does not tell anyone how to use sermorelin. In a children's growth study, the dose was 30 micrograms per kilogram of body weight per day, given as a bedtime injection under the skin. In an aging study, older men received 0.5 mg or 1 mg twice a day for 14 days. In a pharmacology study, IV doses of 0.25 to 2 micrograms per kilogram set off growth-hormone release. These are the numbers researchers used in those specific studies, each cited below — not a recommendation for any person.

Doses used in the research literature

These are the sermorelin doses recorded in the published literature, presented as studied figures only. In the pediatric GH-deficiency efficacy program, 30 mcg/kg/day was administered subcutaneously at bedtime ^[2]. In aging research in older men, 0.5 mg and 1 mg were given subcutaneously twice daily for 14 days, producing dose-related GH and IGF-1 increases ^[3]. In pharmacokinetic work, intravenous doses of 0.25-2 mcg/kg elicited GH release in healthy men, with maximal release at 1-2 mcg/kg ^[5]. A single intravenous bolus (historically around 1 mcg/kg) was also used diagnostically to test pituitary GH reserve ^[5].

Every figure above describes what was administered, to which population, by which route, in a specific study. None of it is a dose recommendation for any individual.

Routes studied and what each implies

Subcutaneous injection was the primary route in efficacy research, used in both the pediatric growth program and the older-men aging study ^[2][3]. Intravenous dosing appeared mainly in diagnostic and pharmacokinetic studies, where rapid, controlled delivery suited the measurement ^[5]. The intranasal route was examined historically but showed bioavailability of only about 3-5%, and a pediatric intranasal trial reported declining absorption, antibody formation, and no height-velocity gain over 6 months ^[14]; see sermorelin half-life and pharmacokinetics.

Because GHRH(1-29) clears in minutes ^[5], research protocols that aimed to sustain a GH-axis effect dosed frequently or at bedtime to align with the nocturnal GH pulse — a description of study design, not a protocol to follow ^[8].

The diagnostic GHRH stimulation context

One historical use of GHRH(1-29) was diagnostic rather than therapeutic. A single intravenous bolus — commonly around 1 mcg/kg — was used as a GH stimulation test: a procedure in which a GH secretagogue is given to assess the pituitary's capacity to release growth hormone ^[5]. The pharmacokinetic study underpins those figures, showing GH release from doses as low as 0.25 mcg/kg and maximal release at 1-2 mcg/kg IV ^[5].

That diagnostic framing is worth separating from anti-aging dosing claims. A bolus given once to probe pituitary reserve is a measurement, not a treatment regimen, and it tells you about the gland's responsiveness rather than about any long-term effect ^[5]. The studied doses on this page span three distinct purposes — pediatric growth, adult aging research, and pituitary diagnostics — and conflating them is a common source of the overstatement the literature warns about ^[6].

How the studied doses map to the findings

Each studied sermorelin dose belongs to a specific question, and reading them that way prevents over-generalization. The 30 mcg/kg/day bedtime subcutaneous regimen was a pediatric growth-deficiency dose, and the outcome it produced was a first-year height-velocity rise from about 4.1 to roughly 7-8 cm/year ^[2]. The 0.5 mg and 1 mg twice-daily subcutaneous regimen for 14 days was an adult aging-research dose, and it produced dose-related GH and IGF-1 increases, with the high dose returning those measures to a young-adult range ^[3].

The intravenous 0.25-2 mcg/kg figures were pharmacokinetic and diagnostic, chosen to characterize GH release and pituitary reserve rather than to treat anything ^[5]. A dose that accelerates growth in a deficient child is not a template for an adult, and a diagnostic IV bolus is not a maintenance regimen — the figures describe distinct experiments. Reported tolerability across these doses is summarized in sermorelin side effects in the literature.

Reconstitution and stability in study handling

Lyophilized sermorelin acetate is reconstituted with sterile diluent and, once reconstituted, typically refrigerated ^[10]. Aqueous peptide solutions are susceptible to degradation, which is why GHRH(1-29) is supplied as a lyophilized powder rather than a ready solution ^[10]. Compounded preparations are prepared under USP <797> sterile-compounding standards ^[10].

These handling notes describe how the peptide is kept stable for study, not how anyone should prepare or use it. The half-life and route figures on this page are pharmacologic descriptions; the dose figures are the doses specific studies administered. Read together with the aging GH/IGF-1 axis research, they describe a precisely characterized short-term pharmacology with limited long-term adult data ^[6].