Cerebrolysin
Porcine brain-derived peptide mixture (not a single peptide)
Cerebrolysin is a mixture of peptides and amino acids made from pig brain tissue, approved in some countries for stroke and dementia and widely discussed as a nootropic.
Regulatory status: Approved in a number of countries, but not by the FDA. Cochrane's most recent review found no benefit in acute ischaemic stroke and a possible increase in non-fatal serious adverse events.
Default vial
0 mg
Default mix
0 mL
Reported range
Supplied as a ready-made solution
Draw (U-100)
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Not a single peptide — a mixture of peptides and amino acids derived from pig brain tissue, sold ready-mixed, so there is nothing to reconstitute. Approved in some countries but not the US. Cochrane's 2023 review found no benefit in stroke and a possible increase in non-fatal serious adverse events.
Where these numbers come from
Cerebrolysin is supplied as a ready-made solution, so there is nothing to reconstitute and the calculator figures do not apply. It is approved in some countries but not the US, and Cochrane's 2023 review found no benefit in acute ischaemic stroke.
- Cerebrolysin for acute ischaemic stroke, Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2023
- Cerebrolysin for vascular dementia, Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2019
- Cerebrolysin in mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease: a meta-analysis of RCTs, Dement Geriatr Cogn Disord 2015
Reviewed October 2026
What it is
- Not a single peptide — a mixture produced by enzymatically breaking down pig brain protein, so its exact composition varies with the process.
- Supplied as a ready-made sterile solution in ampoules; there is nothing to reconstitute.
- Given by intramuscular injection or intravenous infusion, usually in courses over weeks.
- Its makers describe it as neurotrophic, by analogy with the body's own nerve growth factors.
How it is described to act
- 1
Given parenterally because a protein digest would not survive the gut.
- 2
The small peptide fragments are proposed to cross into the brain, though how much does is contested.
- 3
Proposed to act like endogenous neurotrophic factors, supporting neuronal survival and plasticity.
- 4
Trials have measured outcomes in stroke recovery, vascular dementia and Alzheimer's disease.
What the research has looked at
What Cochrane found
- The 2023 Cochrane review of Cerebrolysin in acute ischaemic stroke concluded that moderate-certainty evidence indicates it probably has no beneficial effect on preventing all-cause death.
- The same review found moderate-certainty evidence of no beneficial effect on the number of people with serious adverse events, and — importantly — moderate-certainty evidence of a potential increase in non-fatal serious adverse events.
- The reviewers noted that the manufacturer supported three of the multicentre studies and that two studies were judged at high risk of other bias.
- The 2019 Cochrane review of vascular dementia concluded that adequately powered, methodologically robust trials are still needed.
Where results have been more favourable
- A 2015 meta-analysis of randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials reported benefit in mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease (Dement Geriatr Cogn Disord).
- The gap between that and the Cochrane stroke findings is the sort of thing sponsorship and trial quality can explain, which is why the Cochrane reviewers raised both.
Strength of evidence: Limited human evidence
Unusually for this library, there are many randomised human trials. The problem is what they found: the most rigorous synthesis reports no benefit in stroke and a possible increase in non-fatal serious adverse events.
Some human data exist, but they are small, short, or not designed to answer the questions people ask online.
Reported cautions and unknowns
- Cochrane 2023 reported moderate-certainty evidence of a potential increase in non-fatal serious adverse events — a harm signal, not just an absence of benefit.
- It is derived from pig brain tissue, which raises handling and sourcing questions that a synthetic peptide does not.
- Not FDA-approved, so material bought for US use has no regulatory oversight of its manufacture.
References
Handling this vial
- Lyophilized vials are generally stored at 2–8 °C and kept out of light; once reconstituted with bacteriostatic water they are refrigerated and commonly discarded after 28 days.
- Mix by aiming water down the vial wall and rolling gently — do not shake — and never re-freeze a reconstituted vial.
- Pep-Tidy cannot verify what is in your vial. Ask your supplier for a current Certificate of Analysis (HPLC/MS).
Cerebrolysin questions people ask
How do you reconstitute Cerebrolysin?
A common starting point for a 0 mg vial of Cerebrolysin is 0 mL of bacteriostatic water, which gives the concentration shown above. Aim the water down the inside wall of the vial, let it dissolve on its own, and roll gently instead of shaking. Pep-Tidy's reconstitution calculator will recalculate the numbers for any other vial size or water volume you use.
How many units of Cerebrolysin is one dose?
At the concentration shown above, that works out to about the draw volume shown above. Change the vial size, water volume, or target dose in the calculator and the syringe reading updates with it. This is arithmetic, not a dosing recommendation.
What dosing schedule is reported for Cerebrolysin?
Published and community sources describe Supplied as a ready-made solution, intramuscular or intravenous, every day, typically run 4 weeks on and 4 weeks off. These figures describe what has been reported, not what anyone should take — talk to a licensed clinician first.
How should Cerebrolysin be stored?
Lyophilized Cerebrolysin vials are generally kept at 2–8 °C and out of light. Once reconstituted with bacteriostatic water they are refrigerated and commonly discarded after about 28 days. Never re-freeze a reconstituted vial and never shake it.
Read this before you act on anything above
Everything on this page is a summary of what other people have published — it is not medical advice, not a recommendation, and not a dosing instruction. Reported dose ranges describe what appears in the literature or in community protocols, not what anyone should take. Talk to a licensed clinician before using any peptide.