Informational only. Not medical advice.INFORMATIONAL PLATFORM ONLY — NOT MEDICAL ADVICE, DIAGNOSIS, OR TREATMENT
Informational only. Not medical advice.INFORMATIONAL PLATFORM ONLY — NOT MEDICAL ADVICE, DIAGNOSIS, OR TREATMENT
Head-to-head comparison of Cerebrolysin and PE-22-28 — mechanism, side effects, legal status, and pricing.
Cerebrolysin is not a single peptide but a complex biologic produced by enzymatic hydrolysis of purified porcine brain tissue, containing low-molecular-weight peptides (<10 kDa) and free amino acids. Manufactured by EVER Pharma (Austria), it is registered in 50+ countries (Europe, Asia, Russia, Latin America) for ischemic stroke, traumatic brain injury, and dementia, but is NOT FDA-approved in the United States.
PE-22-28 is a 7-amino-acid synthetic analog of spadin, a peptide fragment (residues 22-28) of the 44-aa propeptide (PE) released during post-translational maturation of sortilin (the neurotensin receptor-3). It is studied in preclinical models as a fast-acting antidepressant that works by selectively blocking the TREK-1 two-pore potassium channel. There is no established use for hair growth — that is a separate compound and the two should not be confused.
Cerebrolysin
PE-22-28
Category
Legal Status
Mechanism
Half-life
Side Effects
COA-verified vendors · trust score ≥70 required · single-vial price — bulk/bundle deals may be lower
Cerebrolysin
3 vendors list this, but none clear the trust bar (score ≥70) yet.
Check Cerebrolysin prices →PE-22-28
COA corpus from Disclosed Labs — independently tested batches only.
Cerebrolysin
1
COAs
—
Avg purity
1
Labs
PE-22-28
13
COAs
99.6%
Avg purity
7
Labs
The CASTA trial (Heiss et al., Stroke 2012, PMID 22282884, n=1070) failed its primary endpoint in Asian ischemic stroke patients, though a post-hoc subgroup with NIHSS >12 showed favorable mortality and functional trends. The CARS trial (Muresanu et al., Stroke 2016, PMID 26564102) reported improved upper-extremity motor recovery at day 90 with 30 mL/d for 21 days alongside rehabilitation. The Guekht 2011 vascular-dementia RCT (PMID 20656516, n=242) reported ADAS-cog+ and CIBIC+ improvements vs placebo. A 2023 Cochrane review (Ziganshina et al., PMID 37818733) concluded moderate-certainty evidence that Cerebrolysin/Cerebrolysin-like peptide mixtures probably do not reduce all-cause death in acute ischemic stroke, and flagged a possible increase in non-fatal serious adverse events. Many pivotal trials are industry-sponsored, and batch-to-batch variability as a porcine-brain hydrolysate is an ongoing methodological concern.
Key references
Mazella, Borsotto and colleagues at Nice, France identified spadin (Mazella et al., PLoS Biology 2010, PMID 20405001) and subsequently developed shortened PE 22-28 analogs with ~300× improved TREK-1 affinity and longer in vivo half-life (Djillani et al., Front Pharmacol 2017, PMID 28955242). In mouse antidepressant assays (forced swim, tail suspension, novelty-suppressed feeding), acute or 4-day IP dosing at ~3–4 μg/kg produced effects comparable to chronic SSRI treatment; oral gavage at 1 mg/kg was also active. The G/A-PE 22-28 modification extended duration of action to ~21–23 hours. Chronic dosing did not produce cardiac or seizure signals in rodents. No human clinical trials have been conducted. A detailed review of TREK-1 blockers for depression is available in Djillani et al., Pharmacol Ther 2019 (PMID 30291907).
Cerebrolysin and PE-22-28 are both in the Cognitive category and may have overlapping mechanisms. Researchers should review both profiles carefully, understand the mechanisms of action, and monitor the relevant biomarkers when combining compounds in the same class. As always, consult a licensed healthcare provider before making any decisions about combining research compounds.
This platform provides informational tools only, not medical advice. This comparison is for educational purposes only. Consult a licensed provider.
Contraindications
Lab Testing
Key references
Disclosed Labs