This is a working overview of BDNF, written for readers who want more than a one-paragraph summary but less than a textbook.
This page was last updated on 2026-02-09 and is reviewed periodically as new material appears.
Laboratory work relies on standard behavioral paradigms. Rodents are tested in the elevated plus maze, open field, and passive avoidance tasks, with outcomes compared against diazepam or vehicle controls. Intranasal dosing is used most often because it bypasses first-pass metabolism, though intraperitoneal and intravenous routes also appear in published protocols. Biochemical endpoints include tissue BDNF concentrations, cytokine levels, and monoamine metabolites. Human data are limited to small Russian trials reporting reduced anxiety scores; most were not prospectively registered, and few employed independent outcome assessment.
Measuring peptide exposure inside the brain is technically difficult. Selank is degraded rapidly in plasma, and assays must separate intact peptide from fragments, which favors targeted mass spectrometry over immunoassays alone. Reported half-lives are short, on the order of minutes, so effects observed hours later are attributed to downstream signaling rather than to the parent compound. Blood-brain barrier permeability is debated and rarely quantified directly. Gaps include absent dose-response characterization, inconsistent reporting of purity, and almost no pharmacokinetic data from human participants.
Selank is studied chiefly as an animal-model anxiolytic with proposed secondary effects on memory and immune signaling. Reported mechanisms include modulation of the GABA-A receptor complex, inhibition of enkephalin-degrading enzymes, and shifts in monoamine turnover within limbic structures. Some experiments describe increased expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor in the hippocampus after repeated dosing. No single molecular target has been confirmed, and the peptide does not bind any receptor with the selectivity typical of a conventional small-molecule drug. Mechanism therefore remains a set of hypotheses rather than an established pathway.
Selank is a synthetic heptapeptide with the sequence Thr-Lys-Pro-Arg-Pro-Gly-Pro. It was designed at the Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Russian Academy of Sciences as a structural analogue of tuftsin, a naturally occurring tetrapeptide fragment of the immunoglobulin heavy chain. The added Pro-Gly-Pro tail was intended to slow enzymatic degradation and extend biological activity. In Russia it is registered as an anxiolytic nasal preparation, while regulators elsewhere have not approved it for clinical use.
Proposed mechanisms centre on modulation of the GABAergic system, with reports of altered expression of genes related to GABA-A receptor subunits and changed monoamine turnover. Some studies describe inhibition of enkephalinase, the enzyme that degrades endogenous enkephalins, which may prolong opioid peptide signalling. Effects on brain-derived neurotrophic factor and on cytokine expression have also been reported. These findings come largely from animal models and small human studies, and the precise primary target remains unresolved.
Published clinical evidence is limited. Most controlled trials were conducted in Russia, enrolled modest numbers of participants, and appeared in Russian-language journals, which restricts independent verification. Reported outcomes include lower anxiety scores, improved attention and memory measures, and changes in fatigue ratings. Reviews written in English note methodological limitations such as small samples and inconsistent endpoints. Whether the compound produces clinically meaningful benefit relative to established anxiolytics is therefore an open question rather than an established finding.
| Property | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Principal proposed target | GABA-A receptor complex | Hypothesis derived mainly from animal pharmacology |
| Common behavioral assay | Elevated plus maze | Rodent test for anxiety-like behavior |
| Reported molecular marker | Hippocampal BDNF expression | Measured by immunoassay or mRNA quantification |
| Typical dosing route | Intranasal | Chosen to reduce first-pass metabolism |
| Reported plasma half-life | Minutes | Based on limited peptide stability data |
Purity assessment relies mainly on reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection. Because the peptide lacks a strong chromophore, detection often uses backbone absorbance near 214 nm. Identity is confirmed by mass spectrometry, typically electrospray ionization or matrix-assisted laser desorption, comparing the measured mass against the expected value. Amino acid analysis can verify composition after acid hydrolysis. Diastereomer content and residual counterions are reported less often, although both can influence biological assays.
Lyophilized material is generally stable for extended periods when kept dry at or below minus twenty degrees Celsius. Working solutions are less stable, and common practice is to aliquot and freeze them so that repeated freeze-thaw cycles are avoided. Aqueous solutions are sensitive to pH extremes and to microbial growth, so short-term storage at refrigerator temperature is typical. Oxidation and hydrolysis are the principal degradation routes. Reconstitution with sterile water or a mild buffer is standard, and solutions should be protected from light.
Regulatory treatment varies by jurisdiction. In Russia the compound is a registered prescription product, while in the European Union and the United States it is generally handled as a research chemical without a marketing authorization. Suppliers therefore operate outside pharmaceutical oversight, and buyers rely on supplier documentation for purity and identity claims. Chain of custody and third-party testing are the main verification tools. Analysts note that the absence of a pharmacopoeial monograph for research-grade material limits standardization across vendors.
Selank is a hydrophilic peptide and dissolves readily in water and in aqueous buffers. The lyophilised powder is typically a white to off-white solid. Because short peptides are prone to hydrolysis and oxidation, handling benefits from limiting exposure to heat, moisture and strong light. Working solutions are commonly prepared in sterile water or saline, and repeated freeze-thaw cycles are avoided to reduce aggregation and loss of activity. These practices reflect general laboratory convention rather than published stability specifications.
Dry powder is normally held at -20 degrees Celsius or lower, in a sealed container with desiccant and protection from light. Reconstituted solutions are usually kept at 2 to 8 degrees Celsius for short periods and frozen for longer ones. Proline residues at several positions are generally associated with some resistance to peptidase attack, but chemical stability still declines at neutral to alkaline pH and at elevated temperature. Exact shelf-life figures are product-specific and are not standardised across suppliers.
The compound was designed at the Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Russian Academy of Sciences during the 1980s and 1990s. The stated design goal was to retain the immunomodulatory and central nervous system activity attributed to tuftsin while improving resistance to enzymatic breakdown. Adding a proline-rich tail to the short parent peptide was a deliberate strategy, because proline residues restrict the conformations available to many peptidases. The same laboratory produced Semax, an ACTH fragment analog, and both compounds were developed in parallel as short, enzymatically stabilized peptides intended for intranasal use.
Selank is not a naturally occurring peptide and has no known endogenous counterpart in human physiology. Russian-language sources frequently call it TP-7, while English-language sources use the name Selank almost exclusively. Database indexing is uneven, partly because early reports appeared in regional journals that are not widely cataloged. Some summaries describe the material as a tuftsin analog and others as a synthetic heptapeptide; the labels overlap rather than conflict. Citing the primary sequence resolves ambiguity more reliably than the research or trade name alone.
In the latter half of the 20th century, scholars widely believed that bog bodies demonstrating injuries to the neck or head area were examples of ritual sacrifice. Bog bodies were associated with Germanic and Celtic cultures, specifically related to head worship. According to Brothwell, Lindow Man is one of the most complex examples of "overkill" in a bog body, and possibly has ritual meaning as it was "extravagant" for a straightforward murder. Archaeologists John Hodgson and Mark Brennand suggest that bog bodies may have been related to religious practice, although there is division in the academic community over this issue. In the case of Lindow Man, scholars debate whether the killing was murder or done as part of ritual. Anne Ross, an expert on Iron Age religion, proposed that the death was an example of human sacrifice and that the "triple death" (throat cut, strangled, and hit on the head) was an offering to several different gods. The wide date range for Lindow Man's death (2 BC to 119 AD) means he may have met his demise after the Romans conquered northern England in the 60s AD. As the Romans outlawed human sacrifice, such timing would open up other possibilities. This conclusion was emphasised by historian Ronald Hutton, who challenged the interpretation of sacrificial death. Connolly suggests that as Lindow Man was found naked, he could have been the victim of a violent robbery. Joy said
At the time of the Miller–Urey experiment, Harold Urey was a Professor of Chemistry at the University of Chicago who had a well-renowned career, including receiving the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1934 for his isolation of deuterium and leading efforts to use gaseous diffusion for uranium isotope enrichment in support of the Manhattan Project. In 1952, Urey postulated that the high temperatures and energies associated with large impacts in Earth's early history would have provided an atmosphere of methane (CH4), water (H2O), ammonia (NH3), and hydrogen (H2), creating the reducing environment necessary for the Oparin-Haldane "primordial soup" scenario. Stanley Miller arrived at the University of Chicago in 1951 to pursue a PhD under nuclear physicist Edward Teller, another prominent figure in the Manhattan Project. Miller began to work on how different chemical elements were formed in the early universe, but, after a year of minimal progress, Teller was to leave for California to establish Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and further nuclear weapons research. Miller, having seen Urey lecture on his 1952 paper, approached him about the possibility of a prebiotic synthesis experiment. While Urey initially discouraged Miller, he agreed to allow Miller to try for a year. By February 1953, Miller had mailed a manuscript as sole author reporting the results of his experiment to Science.
Bottlenecked by the time-consuming task of duct-tying dogs and waiting several weeks to extract insulin, Banting hit upon the idea of extracting insulin from the fetal calf pancreas, which had not yet developed digestive glands. By December, they had also succeeded in extracting insulin from the adult cow pancreas. Macleod discontinued all other research in his laboratory to concentrate on the purification of insulin. He invited biochemist James Collip to help with this task, and the team felt ready for a clinical test within a month.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Primary treatments: use physical methods such as flotation, screening, and sedimentation to remove oil and grease and other suspended solids. Secondary treatments: use biological and physicochemical means. Biological treatments use microorganisms to metabolise the organic polluting matter into energy and biomass. "These microorganisms can be aerobic or anaerobic. The most used aerobic processes are activated sludge system, aerated lagoons, trickling filters or bacterial beds and the rotating biological contractors. During anaerobic digestion, microorganisms break down organic matter without oxygen, producing biogas, mainly methane and carbon dioxide, and a nutrient-rich residue called digestate. The digestion of protein- and fat-rich fish waste can be slowed by the accumulation of ammonia and fatty acids. Mixing fish waste with other organic materials can improve process stability, although the results depend on the mixture and operating conditions. In the physicochemical treatments, also called coagulation-flocculation, a chemical substance is added to the effluent to reduce the surface charges responsible for particle repulsions in a colloidal suspension, thus reducing the forces that keep its particles apart. This reduction in charge causes flocculation (agglomeration) and particles of larger sizes are settled and clarified effluent is obtained. The sludge produced by primary and secondary treatments is further processed in digesting tanks through anaerobic processes or sprayed over land as a fertilizer.
==== Ohio jury trial ==== In October 2021, a landmark trial began in a Cleveland court. The defendants are pharmacy chains and operators, including Walmart, Walgreens and CVS. These chains are accused of not having enough trained staff and sophisticated systems to responsibly dispense opioids. Lawyers allege that pharmacies have not fulfilled their legal responsibility to act as a "last line of defense," and that the chains enable illegal street dealing of prescription opioids. Lake and Trumbull Counties in northeast Ohio were the plaintiffs and alleged the chains had "substantially contributed to the crisis of opioid overdose and deaths…." in the counties. In November 2021, a 12-person jury, after five and a half days of deliberation, held the retailers accountable for contributing to a "public nuisance." This was the first jury verdict in the decades-long crisis. The retailers said they would appeal the jury's verdict. On August 17, 2022, CVS, Walgreens and Walmart were forced to pay out $650.5 million to Lake and Trumbull County.
== Acquisitions == In 1988, Charles River purchased Specific Pathogen Antigen Free Avian Services (SPAFAS) and serologic diagnostic services Merck, Sharp, and Dohme. Between 1996 and 2000, the company acquired Endosafe, Inc. and Sierra Biomedical. In October 2003, Charles River Laboratories merged with Inveresk, a research company based in the United Kingdom. The company was known then as Charles River Laboratories. Inveresk specialised in clinical research and pre-clinical testing, and their main facilities are in Edinburgh, Scotland. In late 2009, Charles River sold its Clinical Services Division in Edinburgh to Quotient Bioresearch. In 2010, Charles River Laboratories attempted to acquire WuXi PharmaTech, a China-based contract research organization, but the offer was withdrawn when the deal faced opposition from several large Charles River investors, including Relational Investors, JANA Partners, and Neuberger Berman. The proxy advisory firm RiskMetrics had also recommended that Charles River's shareholders vote against the proposed deal. From 2008 to 2013, Charles River acquires several companies including NewLab Bioquality AG, MIR Preclinical Services, Piedmont Research Center, LLC, Cerebricon, Ltd., Accugenix, and Vital River, allowing the company to expand their research models and services portfolio to drug development and discovery markets in China.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Amphetamine also has a slight analgesic effect and can enhance the pain relieving effects of opioids. FDA-commissioned studies from 2011 indicate that in children, young adults, and adults there is no association between serious adverse cardiovascular events (sudden death, heart attack, and stroke) and the medical use of amphetamine or other ADHD stimulants. These findings were subsequently corroborated by a 2022 meta-analysis that sampled nearly four million participants, which found no association between therapeutic use of amphetamine and the development of cardiovascular disease in any age group. However, amphetamine pharmaceuticals are contraindicated in individuals with preexisting cardiovascular disease.
=== Oceania === The white shark population is estimated to be 2,500–6,750 individuals around eastern Australia and New Zealand. In 1999, the Australian Government gave legal protection to the species under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act, subsequently declaring it vulnerable in 2000. Similar protections exist at the state level—some predating federal law—with New South Wales, Tasmania, and Western Australia listing the species as vulnerable, and Victoria classifying it as endangered. To bolster these protections, the federal government launched the White Shark Recovery Plan in 2002 to mandate conservation research and regulate shark-related trade and tourism. An updated 2013 recovery plan reported moderate success, with 14 of its 34 original objectives completed. A study in 2012 found that Australia's white shark population is separated by the Bass Strait into genetically distinct eastern and western populations, necessitating regionalized conservation strategies. Population declines prior to protection were driven by commercial and sport fishing, along with entanglement in beach protection netting. By 2013, incidental deaths from commercial and recreational fishing had decreased, yet the population had not fully recovered. Despite federal protections, white sharks are still killed in state-run "shark control" programs (shark culling) intended to reduce attacks. Queensland and New South Wales continue to use nets and traps, which contribute to declining numbers in eastern Australia.
Corrugated boxes are commonly used as shipping containers (more than 90% of all shipping containers are of this type). They are made of corrugated fiberboard which is lightweight, recyclable, and strong enough to ship a variety of products.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Intranasal administration predominates in both animal and human research because it avoids hepatic first-pass metabolism. Injectable and intraperitoneal routes appear in animal work mainly for comparison.
Behavioral endpoints include time spent in open arms of the elevated plus maze and avoidance latencies. Biochemical endpoints include BDNF concentration, cytokine levels, and monoamine metabolite ratios in brain tissue.
Most published studies are small, originate from a limited number of laboratories, and lack independent replication. Dose-response relationships, measured brain exposure, and long-term outcomes are not well characterized.
It is a seven-amino-acid peptide, Thr-Lys-Pro-Arg-Pro-Gly-Pro, produced by chemical synthesis rather than extracted from biological tissue. Its design is based on tuftsin, a natural immunomodulatory tetrapeptide. The C-terminal Pro-Gly-Pro segment is a common stabilising motif in short regulatory peptides.