Peptide Injections May Soon Be Easier to Get. Experts Say the Science Is Thin - Oprah Daily

Follow enough wellness influencers on Instagram and you’re bound to run into someone waxing poetic about peptides—or even livestreaming their injections.

This buzzy practice has been popular in certain extreme wellness and longevity communities for years, but with support from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the trend is poised to go mainstream. At his urging, a panel of advisors convened by the FDA is meeting this week to look at the data on safety and efficacy for seven specific peptides—even though other scientists from the FDA have publicly raised concerns about the lack of evidence for these compounds. (The new advisory panel includes several members with ties to the peptides industry, raising concerns about its impartiality.) The FDA also removed several types of peptides from a category 2 list of bulk drug substances, meaning they may soon be available again in compounding pharmacies after being banned in 2023.

But why peptides? And are they even worth it? We asked two top longevity doctors to unpack the trend.

What Are Peptides?

“A peptide is a small protein,” says Douglas E. Vaughan, MD, the director of the Potocsnak Longevity Institute at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. More precisely, it’s a short chain of amino acids linked together by a type of chemical bond called a peptide bond (hence the name).

Two of the most famous peptides are insulin and semaglutide, a GLP-1, says Florence Comite, MD, a longevity expert and author of the book Invincible: Defy Your Genetic Destiny to Live Better, Longer. But there are many other kinds of peptides in our bodies, Dr. Vaughan says, and they control “everything from our metabolism to our blood pressure to our ability to grow and repair our organs.” (They also play a big role in skin health and repair.)

Peptides are fairly fast-acting and don’t last long in the bloodstream, says Dr. Vaughan. That’s why many peptide drugs are delivered subcutaneously (say, through an injector pen or insulin pump) and why it took so long to develop a pill version of semaglutide. Some, however, are available as microneedle patches that you stick on. And they’re not cheap: Peptual, which is promoted by Kennedy ally and biohacker Gary Brecka, charges around $350 per vial; depending on the product, a vial can last up to three months.

Why Are People Using Peptides?

There are a few specific peptides that wellness and longevity influencers are particularly jazzed about, including:

- BPC-157: Dr. Comite says BPC-157 (body protective compound-157) has strong anti-inflammatory properties and has been studied in animals to promote the healing of tendons, ligaments, bones, and muscles. (It’s also been banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency and major international sports organizations.)

- Cerebrolysin: This neuropeptide supports brain and nerve health and is linked to improved outcomes in patients with traumatic brain injury.

- CJC-1295: A synthetic growth hormone–releasing hormone (GHRH) equivalent, which Dr. Comite says can potentially improve sleep, increase muscle, promote fat loss, and decrease appetite.

- Thymosin: A family of peptides that act on the immune system, says Dr. Vaughan.

- Melanotan II: Also called “the Barbie Drug,” this synthetic peptide is marketed as a quick shortcut to tanner skin without spending time in the sun. Earlier in July, the Skin Cancer Foundation released a statement strongly discouraging its use, raising concerns about melanoma risk, muscle damage, and other health effects.

However, the claims for most of these purported benefits are based on preclinical research, stresses Dr. Vaughan—data from cell or animal studies, not human trials. “There’s not really much we can hang our hat on,” he argues. “I am very interested in testing them very rigorously, prospectively, in conventional clinical trials, not only for efficacy but for safety.”

Dr. Comite, who has studied various peptides for decades, says she uses them in her practice: BPC-157 to help treat acute injuries (like sprains) and Cerebrolysin in patients with a high risk of dementia. “I’m a little unusual as a doctor,” she says. But she adds that she is rigorous about where she sources her peptides, who she prescribes them to, and how she doses them.

Are Peptides Safe?

Peptides as a category hold great potential for our health, as proven by all of the research on GLP-1s. But Dr. Vaughan is deeply concerned about the idea that other peptides could soon become more easily available in compounding pharmacies.

For starters, he says the lack of clinical data from human trials on many peptides means we don’t know what benefits to expect, what dosages to use, or what the long-term risks or side effects could be. And given how powerful peptides are, says Dr. Comite, the risks can be serious—even stimulating autoimmune diseases or cancer if misused.

Due to the previous FDA ban, many of these peptide products have been sold illegally as “supplements” or on the black market, with zero regulations in place—a huge red flag for purity and quality, says Dr. Vaughan. (You’ll see retailers use a disclaimer stating that these products are intended “for research purposes only” and “not for human consumption,” which means the FDA has not approved them for safety or efficacy in humans.) “Peptides have to be synthesized under extremely clean conditions,” he adds. “Otherwise, they can be contaminated with toxins or other factors that are quite dangerous.”

Kennedy has publicly argued that making peptides available at compounding pharmacies again would make them safer, because these facilities are subject to some regulation (although nothing as stringent as the regulations regarding true FDA-approved drugs). But the move wouldn’t solve all of the issues. “I think the biggest risk isn’t actually the peptide; it’s people using them without any medical oversight,” Dr. Comite says. Without the support of a prescribing physician, who would know a patient’s health status and what meds and supplements they’re already taking, a person is risking a lot for the sake of potentially improving wellness. (Think of it this way: Would you just take antidepressants or pain meds willy-nilly?) “Peptides are out there as miracle cures, and I don’t buy into that,” Dr. Comite says. “They’re not a fit for everybody.”

So…Skip the Peptide Injections?

In a word, yes. Both experts say that peptides should not be universally available to the public, for all of the reasons outlined above. But that could change with time—and robust research. “Once we have clinical data—and that’s going to take some time—we can make suggestions or recommendations about what people might or might not do,” says Dr. Vaughan. “But in the absence of that, to just say, ‘It’s the wild wild west; you can buy these things and do your own experiment,’ that’s ridiculous.”

The thing is, we already know what works best to promote health and well-being, and risky peptides aren’t on the list. “It’s the mundane things: weight loss, exercise, regular sleep, stress reduction, avoiding cigarettes and excess alcohol, and having a great social network,” says Dr. Vaughan. “People should turn their attention to doing those things,” he adds. “Then, if and when we come up with a better understanding of what peptides do, bring them in.”

Jessie Van Amburg is a health journalist with over a decade of experience covering mental and reproductive health for some of the top media brands in the country, including SELF, Well+Good, Glamour, Women's Health, TIME, and Wondermind. She lives in Beacon, NY with her husband and cats, and is passionate about '90s television shows, climate justice community organizing, and the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.