§ Glossary · biology

GHRH

Growth hormone-releasing hormone, the hypothalamic peptide that triggers GH release.

Growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) is a hypothalamic peptide that stimulates the anterior pituitary to release growth hormone (GH). Synthetic GHRH analogues — including tesamorelin (an FDA-approved 44-amino-acid analogue), CJC-1295, and sermorelin — are research subjects in lipodystrophy, visceral fat reduction, and the GH/IGF-1 axis. They differ from direct GH administration in that they preserve the body's pulsatile GH release pattern and the negative-feedback loop, which is why they are often investigated as more 'physiological' than recombinant GH.

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