Safety findings

Human randomized studyAbstract inspected

The same 1-year ibutamoren trial reported increased fasting glucose (+0.3 mmol/L, P=0.015) and reduced insulin sensitivity, together with increased appetite, mild lower-extremity edema and muscle pain as the most frequent side effects. A separate, independent randomized trial of ibutamoren (25 mg/day) in 123 elderly hip-fracture patients was terminated early because of a safety signal of congestive heart failure in a limited number of patients; FDA's bulk-drug-substance safety table cites this same trial when describing ibutamoren's congestive-heart-failure risk.[1][2][3]

  • Neither the FDA table nor the primary trial abstract reports the exact number or rate of heart-failure events; the signal is described only qualitatively as leading to early termination in a limited number of patients.
  • The heart-failure signal was observed in elderly post-hip-fracture patients at 25 mg/day; it is population- and dose-specific, not a measured risk in every user.
Inspection history

Clinical review: not reviewed by a qualified clinician.

· Independently inspected the listed passages; replaced or qualified inherited assertions. No qualified clinical review has occurred.

· Added the exact glucose effect size from the 1-year trial and independently located and inspected the primary hip-fracture trial (Adunsky et al. 2011) that the FDA table's ibutamoren row describes, corroborating the regulatory statement with the underlying human study rather than the regulatory citation alone.

Clinical & experimental findings

Human randomized studyAbstract inspected

Ibutamoren is an oral ghrelin mimetic, not a SARM. In a 1-year randomized trial in 65 healthy adults aged 60 to 81, it increased pulsatile growth hormone secretion, IGF-1 and fat-free mass (change of +1.1 kg versus -0.5 kg with placebo, P<0.001) and body weight (+2.7 kg versus +0.8 kg, P=0.003), but the increase in fat-free mass did not translate into improved strength or function; a two-year exploratory analysis confirmed the one-year findings.[1]

  • Surrogate hormone and body-composition changes do not demonstrate functional benefit.
  • The trial's own authors state its size and duration were insufficient to evaluate functional endpoints reliably in healthy elderly people.
Inspection history

Clinical review: not reviewed by a qualified clinician.

· Independently inspected the listed passages; replaced or qualified inherited assertions. No qualified clinical review has occurred.

· Reconfirmed the abstract on reopening and added the exact effect sizes, confidence context and statistical significance reported for fat-free mass and body weight.

Interaction evidence

Mechanistic inferenceAbstract inspected

MK-677 reduced insulin sensitivity in an older-adult trial, and somatropin labeling warns of reduced insulin sensitivity. These individual-agent findings motivate a possible glycemic concern; the combination and its magnitude were not tested.[1][4]

  • MK-677 results cannot be assigned to every GHRH or ghrelin-related peptide.
  • Does not establish additive hypoglycemia with insulin.
Inspection history

Clinical review: not reviewed by a qualified clinician.

· Supporting passages inspected, scope corrected and legacy assertions reassessed; no clinician review performed.

· Independently reopened every cited source afresh on 2026-09-09 (interaction batch, fresh deep-research pass); disposition and wording reconfirmed against the live sources, not carried over from the prior pass. No qualified clinical review.

What remains unresolved

Editorial assessment

These notes describe the scope of this review. Linked PMIDs are audit identifiers; an identifier alone does not verify a claim.

Identified an oral ghrelin mimetic and retained the older-adult trial’s null functional finding and metabolic effects.

  • Healthy younger performance outcomes, combination risks and a universal heart-failure risk estimate remain unverified.
  • Other inherited assertions not supported by the published claim set remain unverified; no qualified clinician review has occurred.

This reference does not supply a dosing plan, monitoring timetable or recovery regimen. Discuss personal symptoms, medicines and laboratory results with a qualified clinician.

Explore the interaction evidence for this compound →

References

  1. Effects of an oral ghrelin mimetic on body composition and clinical outcomes in healthy older adults: a randomized trial.

    2008-11-04. PMID:18981485 · DOI:10.7326/0003-4819-149-9-200811040-00003 Abstract only.

    Inspected location: Abstract: methods and results

    This page cites a second record of the same publication. They are listed together so one study is not read as separate supporting evidence.

    Same publication, separate inspection record: PubMed abstract; publication types and CommentsCorrections in NLM EFetch XML Abstract only. Inspection record

    Study context and inspection record
  2. FDA: Certain bulk drug substances for compounding that may present significant safety risks

    US Food and Drug Administration. FDA web page. The footer states "Content current as of: 04/22/2026" (22 April 2026), independently verified on 2026-09-09 by two separate fetch methods. The ibutamoren mesylate row's own dated actions remain the applicable dates for that row's content. 2026-04-22. Regulatory document.

    Inspected location: Ibutamoren mesylate row of the 503A/503B category-2 bulk-substances table: congestive-heart-failure safety-risk description and the row's own dated entries (503A added September 29, 2023; 503B added December 29, 2022). Also inspected for this batch: the category-2 table row for kisspeptin-10, and the withdrawn-nomination rows for BPC-157, cathelicidin LL-37, emideltide (DSIP), epitalon, GHK-Cu, melanotan II, MOTs-C, selank acetate (TP-7), semax (heptapeptide) and thymosin alpha-1; and the earlier named GHRP-6, PEG-MGF, GHK-Cu and GHRP-2 rows

    Study context and inspection record
  3. MK-0677 (ibutamoren mesylate) for the treatment of patients recovering from hip fracture: a multicenter, randomized, placebo-controlled phase IIb study.

    Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics 2011;53(2):183-189 (print issue Sep-Oct 2011; electronic publication 2010-11-09). 2010-11-09. PMID:21067829 · DOI:10.1016/j.archger.2010.10.004 Abstract only.

    Inspected location: Abstract: trial design, functional endpoints, IGF-1 levels and early termination for a congestive heart failure safety signal

    Study context and inspection record
  4. GENOTROPIN (somatropin) prescribing information

    2025-07. Product label.

    Inspected location: Sections 5.4, 5.7 and 7.5 (PDF pages 8 and 14)

    Study context and inspection record

Source inspection and clinical review are separate. An abstract check is not a full-text review. The records above identify what was actually inspected and do not certify the complete literature.

Recorded verification attempts
  • peptide-pmid-18981485: Abstract: methods and results
  • peptide-fda-bulk-safety: Named rows: GHRP-6, PEG-MGF, GHK-Cu, GHRP-2 and ibutamoren; current and withdrawn-nomination tables

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Related records in this class

Grouped under Other compounds for navigation only. Shared class membership does not make findings, formulations or evidence interchangeable between records.

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