AOD-9604

AOD-9604 is the tail end of human growth hormone, cut off and used on its own. Growth hormone is a natural hormone that affects fat and muscle.

The idea was to keep the fat-burning part of growth hormone but drop the growth part. So it does not raise a growth signal called IGF-1. That part of the pitch is true.

It is sold "for research only." That is the RUO label. There is no FDA-approved version.

People take it hoping to lose fat without the side effects of growth hormone.

Some hormone clinics sell it inside a "fat-loss peptide stack." Others pitch it for stubborn joints, like a bad knee or shoulder.

The fat-loss use is the main one. It is also the one the science does not support.

For fat loss, no. The trial answered that.

In 2007 a real study tested it in 536 obese adults for 24 weeks. It missed its main goal. The company stopped developing it as a weight-loss drug.

One thing to know: that trial used a 1 mg pill. The community uses a smaller 300 mcg shot instead. Pills of peptides barely absorb, so the shot is different. But no real trial has tested the shot. So buying the injectable is paying for an untested guess, not a fixed version of the failed trial.

People use it as a small shot under the skin. The common dose people talk about is about 300 mcg a day.

That is a subcutaneous shot, meaning just under the skin. Its half-life is short, around 30 minutes, so it clears the body fast.

This dose and route were never tested in a real trial. The failed trial used a pill at a higher dose.

The good news first. It does not raise IGF-1, the growth signal. So it skips some of growth hormone's risks. It is also approved as a food additive in the US, which is a sign it is not toxic at small amounts.

The real catch is not a scary side effect. There is no long-term safety data. And you would be spending money on a drug whose fat-loss claim already failed in people.

Skip it if you have a growth-plate or child-related concern. See a hormone doctor instead.

Talk to a real doctor before trying it. We are not your doctor.

Here are the ways people get it, from safest to riskiest.

• Brand. There is none. The trial failed and it was never sold as a drug.
• Compounded. Some clinics ship it, about $150 to $300 a month. It is for a failed use, so trust varies clinic to clinic.
• Research-only (RUO). The main supply, about $50 to $150 a month. Sold "for research only." The only real check is mass spectrometry, a lab test that confirms what the molecule is.
• Gray market. The cheapest, about $20 to $27 a month, paid by crypto. Identity is unverified.