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 Selank — 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.
Selank is a synthetic heptapeptide analog of the endogenous immunomodulatory tetrapeptide tuftsin, extended with a Pro-Gly-Pro C-terminus for metabolic stability. Developed at the Institute of Molecular Genetics (Russian Academy of Sciences), it is registered as an anxiolytic drug in Russia but is not approved by the FDA or EMA.
Cerebrolysin
Selank
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 →Selank
COA corpus from Disclosed Labs — independently tested batches only.
Cerebrolysin
1
COAs
—
Avg purity
1
Labs
Selank
81
COAs
99.6%
Avg purity
18
Labs
Selank is among peptides under FDA review for the Category 1 (503A) list; if added, it would require a prescription to be compounded by registered 503A/503B pharmacies — not yet authorized. Cerebrolysin remains research-only. In April 2026 the FDA removed 12 peptides from Category 2, which does not place them on the Category 1 list or authorize compounding. The FDA's Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee is advisory and meets July 23–24, 2026 to review nominations and make recommendations to the FDA.
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
Selank's clinical evidence base is almost entirely Russian. Zozulia et al. (2008, Zh Nevrol Psikhiatr Im S S Korsakova; PMID 18454096) compared selank to medazepam in 62 patients with generalized anxiety disorder and neurasthenia, reporting comparable anxiolytic efficacy plus antiasthenic/psychostimulant effects, together with changes in serum enkephalin-degrading enzyme activity. Mechanistic work includes Inozemtseva et al. (2008, Dokl Biol Sci; PMID 18841804) showing intranasal Selank increases hippocampal BDNF mRNA and protein in rats, Volkova et al. (2016, Front Pharmacol; PMID 26924987) demonstrating modulation of GABAergic gene expression, and Vyunova et al. (2018, Protein Pept Lett; PMID 30255741) proposing a positive allosteric GABA-A mechanism. No US or EU regulatory clinical trials have been conducted; safety data outside Russia is limited.
Cerebrolysin and Selank 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