Cortagen
Cortagen (Ala-Glu-Asp-Pro, AEDP)
Also known as: AEDP
A four amino acid Khavinson bioregulator sold as the defined-sequence cousin of Cortexin for brain recovery; animal data from a single St. Petersburg group and no pharmacokinetics for any route.
Overview
Cortagen belongs to the family of short peptides developed by Vladimir Khavinson's institute, each pitched as a tissue-specific regulator. Published work reports neuroprotective effects in rodents after brain injury. Like the rest of the family, it has essentially no independent Western replication, no human randomized trials, and no data on whether an oral or sublingual dose survives digestion.
Mechanism of action
Proposed direct binding to DNA promoter regions regulating neuronal gene expression (Khavinson hypothesis).
Key studies & citations
- Animal2000
Effect of tetrapeptide cortagen on regeneration of sciatic nerve
Nerve regeneration in a single-group rat study.
Bulletin of Experimental Biology and Medicine - In vitro2020
Short peptides protect oral stem cells from ageing
One Khavinson-group cell study; representative of the single-lineage evidence base.
Stem Cell Reviews and Reports
Frequently asked questions
Is Cortagen just Cortexin?
Cortexin is an undefined mixture of brain-derived peptides; Cortagen is a defined tetrapeptide from the same research group. Neither has independent human trials.