# Sermorelin Dosing — research-context dose values from the published literature > What the published research used: 1 µg/kg IV diagnostic, 30 µg/kg SC pediatric, 10 µg/kg to 1 mg adult research doses. Half-life 11-12 minutes. Bioavailability ~6% subcutaneous. Reported research-context dose ranges from the published sermorelin and GHRH(1-29)-analog literature. No prescriptive guidance. No human dosing recommendations. ## What the trials dosed — not a recommendation Every number on this page comes from a published study. The dose values below are research-context anchors — they appear in peer-reviewed literature, not as prescriptions for any individual. Sermorelin's short 11-12 minute half-life means GH peaks 30-90 minutes after the dose and persists 2-4 hours — longer than the parent peptide itself, because the pituitary cascade continues after the ligand clears [8][17]. That pharmacodynamic decoupling is why every chronic-dosing trial in the record timed the dose at bedtime, aligning with the body's largest natural GH secretion window. Regulatory framing: no current FDA-approved sermorelin formulation exists; dose values described here reflect historical prescribing information and published research protocols only. ## Doses that appear in the published trial record The peer-reviewed sermorelin and GHRH(1-29)-analog literature documents five recurring dose anchors. These are reported research values, not prescriptive recommendations, and the site presents them in research-context framing only. **1 µg/kg intravenous, single dose** — pituitary-function diagnostic test in children with suspected growth hormone deficiency, the historical Geref-labeled diagnostic indication. Reliably triggers a measurable pituitary GH peak in subjects with intact somatotroph function [6]. **30 µg/kg subcutaneous nightly** — the pediatric idiopathic-GHD treatment dose in the pivotal trials reviewed by Prakash and Goa 1999. Sustained twofold height-velocity gains (8-10 cm/year on treatment vs 4-5 cm/year baseline) over 12 months, with reported continued efficacy out to 36 months in extended follow-up [6][12]. **10 µg/kg subcutaneous nightly** — the adult-aging research dose used in Khorram 1997 with [Nle27]GHRH(1-29)-NH2 over 16 weeks in men and women aged 55-71. Produced nocturnal GH and IGF-1 elevation in both sexes, +1.26 kg lean mass in men, measurable skin-thickness increases in both sexes [3]. **~14 µg/kg (~1 mg) subcutaneous nightly** — the adult cognitive and body-composition dose used in Vitiello 2006 over five months in 89 older adults. Doubled 24-hour GH, raised IGF-1 ~40%, reduced body fat ~5%, improved processing-speed cognitive scores 5-7% [5]. **1 mg/day subcutaneous** — the adult dose of stabilized GHRH(1-29) analog tesamorelin used in Baker 2012 (152 participants, 20 weeks) and Friedman 2013 (30 participants from the same cohort, MR-spectroscopy substudy). Drove the 117% IGF-1 rise, 7.4% body-fat drop, 3.7% lean-mass gain, and improved executive function in the largest of the adult trials [1][4]. **2 mg subcutaneous nightly** — the short-term GH-pulse dose used in Vittone 1997 in 11 elderly men over six weeks. Produced significant nocturnal GH increases (p<0.006) and measurable upper-body strength gains, with IGF-1 not yet reaching statistical significance in the short window [2]. ## Pharmacokinetics — why dosing is timed before sleep Sermorelin's pharmacokinetic profile is unusually compact. In healthy adult volunteers receiving 2 mg subcutaneous sermorelin, peak plasma concentration occurred at 5-20 minutes post-injection. Mean absolute subcutaneous bioavailability was approximately 6%. Total plasma clearance was 2.4-2.8 L/min. Terminal elimination half-life was 11-12 minutes [8]. Despite the short parent-peptide half-life, the pharmacodynamic effect runs longer: GH release peaks 30-90 minutes after subcutaneous administration and persists 2-4 hours [17]. This temporal decoupling — short PK, longer PD — is the reason all of the chronic-dosing adult and pediatric trials administer sermorelin at bedtime. Endogenous GH secretion is naturally pulsatile and concentrated during slow-wave sleep; a bedtime dose superimposes the sermorelin-induced GH pulse on the body's largest physiological GH release window, rather than fighting somatostatin tone during waking hours. ## Routes studied The chronic-dosing adult and pediatric trials are uniformly subcutaneous. The original Geref label included an intravenous diagnostic indication at 1 µg/kg single-dose. Intranasal sermorelin has been examined in limited pilot research but is not the route in any of the modern adult-aging or pediatric pivotal trials. The lyophilized powder formulation requires reconstitution with bacteriostatic water and refrigerated storage. The peptide is susceptible to dipeptidyl peptidase IV cleavage at the N-terminal tyrosine-alanine bond — the rationale behind the DPP-IV-resistant N-terminal modifications carried by tesamorelin and CJC-1295 [8]. ## Adverse events documented in trials The most rigorously characterized safety dataset is Baker 2012, in which 137 completers (76 healthy older adults, 61 with mild cognitive impairment) received 20 weeks of 1 mg/day subcutaneous tesamorelin. Treatment-emergent adverse-event rate was 68% on active versus 36% on placebo. The events were predominantly mild injection-site reactions and arthralgias. Seventeen percent of treated participants required a dose adjustment. No serious cardiovascular events were reported in the trial [1][9]. The pediatric trial record reviewed by Prakash and Goa 1999 reports transient facial flushing and injection-site reactions as the most common adverse effects, with no evidence of pituitary exhaustion or receptor tachyphylaxis on multi-year follow-up [6][12]. Theoretical concerns about acute GH/IGF-1 elevation — insulin resistance, edema, carpal tunnel syndrome, tumor-growth promotion — have not been borne out in the controlled trials reviewed here, in which IGF-1 elevation stayed within physiological range. ## Regulatory framing of the dose values All dose values on this page appear in published peer-reviewed literature. None are presented as recommendations for human use. Sermorelin currently has no FDA-approved finished-drug formulation — the original Geref product was voluntarily withdrawn by Serono in 2008 for business reasons, with formal FDA withdrawal published in 2013. The compound remains available through US 503A compounding pharmacies as an unapproved bulk-substance-derived preparation. Sermorelin is listed under Section S2.2.4 'Growth hormone-releasing factors' of the 2025 WADA Prohibited List — banned in and out of competition for all WADA-tested sports alongside CJC-1293, CJC-1295, and tesamorelin [14]. WADA listing is independent of FDA status and applies regardless of whether the substance is administered by a clinician or self-administered. --- A compiled read of the peer-reviewed sermorelin record — not a clinic, not a vendor, not medical guidance.