Alexis Anvekar MD ABIHM
Living Method Peptides: The CogStack Semax and Selank
-nasal drops for brain clarity and calmness
The Research
Selank and Semax are two synthetic neuropeptides developed at the Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Both are given intranasally, both are approved prescription drugs in Russia, and both have been used for decades to treat brain recovery and anxiety in Russia. However, neither is approved by the FDA for use in the United States, and most of the published trials are on animal models.
Across the published Russian trials, both peptides are generally described as well tolerated over the short treatment courses studied. Reported observations include:
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Semax: Stroke trials such as Gusev and colleagues' work in the 1990s reported good tolerability with no significant adverse effects beyond local nasal irritation.
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Selank: head-to-head trials against benzodiazepines (for example Zozulya and colleagues, ~62 patients, versus medazepam; and a phenazepam comparison of ~60 patients) reported anxiolytic effects comparable to those drugs but without sedation or dependence. Across the Russian trials, roughly 190 patients have been studied with very few adverse effects reported.
Frequently asked questions
Are Selank and Semax approved drugs?
Yes, in Russia — Semax since the 1990s and Selank since 2009, both as prescription medicines.
No, in the United States and Europe, where neither is FDA- or EMA-approved and both are treated as research compounds.
How strong is the evidence behind them?
Stronger than most research peptides, but with an important asterisk. There are real human trials and decades of Russian clinical use, especially for Semax in stroke. However, there has been little independent Western replication.
How are they taken?
Both are administered intranasally in Russian clinical practice, not by injection.
Is Selank like a benzodiazepine?
In Russian trials its anti-anxiety effect was described as comparable to benzodiazepines such as medazepam and phenazepam, but reportedly without the sedation, cognitive impairment, or dependence associated with that drug class. This comparison comes from small Russian studies and has not been independently replicated at scale.
Alzheimers:
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Radchenko AI, Kuzubova EV, Apostol AA, Mitkevich VA, Andreeva LA, Limborska SA, Stepenko YV, Shmigerova VS, Solin AV, Korokin MV, Pokrovskii MV, Myasoedov NF, Makarov AA. The Potential of the Peptide Drug Semax and Its Derivative for Correcting Pathological Impairments in the Animal Model of Alzheimer's Disease. Acta Naturae. 2025 Oct-Dec;17(4):110-120. doi: 10.32607/actanaturae.27808. PMID: 41479572; PMCID: PMC1275587
Neurodegenerative Disorders:
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Giri S, Chandra P. Modulation of neuropathological pathways by bioactive peptides and proteins/polypeptides: Targeting oxidative stress in neurodegenerative diseases. Neuropeptides. 2025 Dec;114:102563. doi: 10.1016/j.npep.2025.102563. Epub 2025 Sep 21. PMID: 41004910.
Stroke and Spinal Cord Injury:
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Liu R, Chen Y, Huang H, Li X, Lv J, Jiang L, Jiang H, Wu C, Chen W, Xu H, Zhu Z, Cai H, Xiao J, Yin L, Ni W. Semax peptide targets the μ opioid receptor gene Oprm1 to promote deubiquitination and functional recovery after spinal cord injury in female mice. Br J Pharmacol. 2025 Nov;182(22):5489-5516. doi: 10.1111/bph.70122. Epub 2025 Jul 21. PMID: 40692165.
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Filippenkov IB, Shpetko YY, Ales DA, Stavchansky VV, Denisova AE, Yuzhakov VV, Fomina NK, Gubsky LV, Andreeva LA, Myasoedov NF, Limborska SA, Dergunova LV. Genes That Associated with Action of ACTH-like Peptides with Neuroprotective Potential in Rat Brain Regions with Different Degrees of Ischemic Damage. Int J Mol Sci. 2025 Jun 28;26(13):6256. doi: 10.3390/ijms26136256. PMID: 40650034; PMCID: PMC12249733.
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Asadullah A, Bajamal AH, Parenrengi MA, Turchan A, Utomo B, Sudiana IK, Subagio EA. Effect of ACTH4-10Pro8-Gly9-Pro10 on anti-inflammatory cytokine (IL-4, IL-10, IL-13) expression in acute spinal cord injury models (male Sprague Dawley rats). F1000Res. 2025 Sep 22;12:194. doi: 10.12688/f1000research.127413.2. PMID: 41179234; PMCID: PMC12579320.
Anxiety:
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Inozemtseva LS, Yatsenko KA, Glazova NY, Kamensky AA, Myasoedov NF, Levitskaya NG, Grivennikov IA, Dolotov OV. Antidepressant-like and antistress effects of the ACTH(4-10) synthetic analogs Semax and Melanotan II on male rats in a model of chronic unpredictable stress. Eur J Pharmacol. 2024 Dec 5;984:177068. doi: 10.1016/j.ejphar.2024.177068. Epub 2024 Oct 21. PMID: 39442746.
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Kasian A, Kolomin T, Andreeva L, Bondarenko E, Myasoedov N, Slominsky P, Shadrina M. Peptide Selank Enhances the Effect of Diazepam in Reducing Anxiety in Unpredictable Chronic Mild Stress Conditions in Rats. Behav Neurol. 2017;2017:5091027. doi: 10.1155/2017/5091027. Epub 2017 Feb 9. PMID: 28280289; PMCID: PMC5322660.
What are Semax and Selank? your secret smarter/calmer weapon.
Semax (retstores brain health by upregulating brain growth factors) andSelank (reduces anxiety) are peptides that have been used for decades in Russia. However, they are not FDA approved in the U.S.
Living Method provides them as easy to self-administer intranasal drops compounded by a FDA Approved U.S. pharmacy.
Semax (brain health) has been in clinical use in Russia for over three decades — prescribed for stroke recovery, traumatic brain injury, and cognitive impairment. Its most significant mechanism is for brain health: it powerfully elevates BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor), the protein most responsible for neuroplasticity, new synaptic connections, and learning. In a small controlled human trial, a single intranasal dose produced 71% accuracy on a memory test versus 41% in controls.
Selank (anti-anxiety) is approved in Russia for generalized anxiety disorder. It works through GABAergic and serotonergic pathways to reduce anxiety, regulate the stress response, and support cognitive clarity — without sedation, without dependence, and without the cognitive blunting of benzodiazepines. Studies have shown it to reduce or eliminate need for benzodiazepines.
Living Method uses them together because their reported effects are complementary — Semax leaning toward focus and neuroprotection, Selank toward calm and stress resilience.
Semax-
a brain booster
Semax was developed in the 1980s at the Institute of Molecular Genetics in Moscow. It is a seven-amino-acid peptide (a heptapeptide) derived from ACTH but modified so that it keeps the brain-related effects of its parent hormone while shedding the hormonal stress activity.
In laboratory and animal research, Semax is associated with rapid increases in brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and nerve growth factor (NGF) and with signaling through the TrkB receptor — pathways tied to neuron survival (growth of brain), plasticity, and learning. It also appears to modulate serotonin and dopamine signaling. In Russia it is used clinically for ischemic stroke recovery, transient ischemic attacks, cognitive impairment after head injury, optic-nerve disorders, and some attention and anxiety indications.
Selank-
a natural anti-anxiety
Selank was developed in the 1990s at the same institute, in cooperation with the Zakusov Research Institute of Pharmacology. It is a heptapeptide analog of tuftsin (a natural fragment of an antibody molecule), again stabilized with a Pro-Gly-Pro tail.
Selank's reported anti-anxiety effect is linked in research to modulation of the GABA system — the brain's main calming neurotransmitter system — as well as effects on enkephalins (natural opioid-like peptides involved in mood) and on serotonin and dopamine. In Russian clinical trials it has been compared directly to benzodiazepines and described as producing comparable anxiety reduction but without the sedation, cognitive dulling, or dependence associated with that drug class.
