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Compound monograph · evidence extract

GHRP-2 in sarcopenia and lean-mass preservation during weight reduction — evidence extract

The Institute's graded assessment of GHRP-2 for sarcopenia and lean-mass preservation during weight reduction, with the contributing trials and the domain-by-domain certainty reasoning.

Document identifier
CEI-MN-026/EV-SARCOPENIA
Series
Evidence extract
Version
4.0
Published
17 Oct 2023
Last reviewed
17 Apr 2024
Next review
17 Apr 2026
Identifier
10.71829/cei.mono.26
Certainty
Very low
Cycle
2023 Q4

§1Evidence extract: Sarcopenia and lean-mass preservation during weight reduction

§1.1Question and anchor outcome

Population
Loss of skeletal muscle mass and function, considered here principally as a consequence of rapid weight reduction under incretin therapy.
Intervention
GHRP-2, intravenous for the approved diagnostic use; subcutaneous in research contexts
Comparator
As used in each contributing trial; reported per trial rather than pooled across comparator types
Anchor outcome
Change in appendicular lean mass by DXA

Additional outcomes the Institute extracts for this indication: Change in fat-free mass by MRI; Grip strength; Physical performance battery.

§1.2Contributing trials

No trial has been identified for GHRP-2 in sarcopenia and lean-mass preservation during weight reduction. The rating below reflects that absence.

§1.3Certainty assessment

Certainty assessment by domainDowngrading decision recorded for each certainty domain.Certainty domainNo concernSeriousVery seriousEffect on ratingRisk of biasdowngrade one levelInconsistencydowngrade one levelIndirectnessdowngrade one levelImprecisionno downgradePublication biasno downgradeTotal downgrading: 3 levelsVery low certainty
Figure 2. Domain-by-domain certainty assessment for GHRP-2 in sarcopenia and lean-mass preservation during weight reduction. The starting rating for a body of randomised evidence is high; each serious concern reduces it by one level and each very serious concern by two.

Table 2. Reasoning recorded against each certainty domain.

DomainRatingReasoning
Risk of biasSeriousThe primary endpoint is patient-reported in a setting where blinding cannot be maintained.
InconsistencySeriousDirection is consistent; magnitude varies with the intensity of the background intervention.
IndirectnessSeriousThe enrolled population differs materially from the population of the assessment question.
ImprecisionNo concernNo serious concern identified in this domain.
Publication biasNo concernNo serious concern identified in this domain.
Overall rating: Very low certainty. The Institute has very little confidence in the effect estimate. The true effect is likely to be substantially different from the estimate. In this series a very low rating most often reflects an absence of controlled human evidence rather than conflicting evidence.

§1.4What this extract does not establish

References cited on this page

References are numbered in order of first citation in this document. Each superscript in the text links to its entry below.

  1. Raun K, Hansen BS, Johansen NL, Thøgersen H, Madsen K, Ankersen M, Andersen PH. Ipamorelin, the first selective growth hormone secretagogue. European Journal of Endocrinology 1998;139(5):552–561. doi:10.1530/eje.0.1390552 · PMID 9849822
  2. Teichman SL, Neale A, Lawrence B, Gagnon C, Castaigne JP, Frohman LA. Prolonged stimulation of growth hormone (GH) and insulin-like growth factor I secretion by CJC-1295, a long-acting analog of GH-releasing hormone, in healthy adults. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism 2006;91(3):799–805. doi:10.1210/jc.2005-1536 · PMID 16352683
  3. Thevis M, Thomas A, Schänzer W. Detecting peptidic drugs, drug candidates and analogs in sports doping: current status and future directions. Expert Review of Proteomics 2019;11(6):663–673. doi:10.1586/14789450.2014.965158

Identifiers are reproduced only where the Institute holds them. Where a digital object identifier or PubMed identifier is not shown, the Institute has recorded the journal and year and has not constructed an identifier.

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