Pharmacology & biology
Secretagogue
Also known as: growth hormone secretagogue · ghs
A substance that causes a gland to secrete a hormone the body already makes, rather than supplying the hormone directly.
In plain terms
Growth hormone secretagogues prompt the pituitary to release its own growth hormone, in pulses, subject to the body’s own feedback control. That is the argued advantage over injecting growth hormone itself: the ceiling and the rhythm remain physiological.
It is also the honest limitation. A secretagogue cannot exceed what the pituitary can produce, and its effects are constrained by the same negative feedback loops.
Compounds where this comes up
Guides that use this term
CJC-1295, ipamorelin and MK-677 reliably raise growth hormone and IGF-1 in humans. What the trials have not shown is that raising those numbers produces the outcomes people take them for.
Anti-doping panels detect peptide hormones and secretagogues; standard workplace panels generally do not screen for them. Legality, detectability, and prohibition are three separate questions.
Educational reference only. Pepperz does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, prescribing guidance, or dosing recommendations.