If you have been reading about elevated plus maze and want a single page that covers the useful parts, this is it: definitions, context, how it is studied, and the questions that come up repeatedly.
Updated 2026-02-05. Numbers and descriptions here follow the published literature rather than marketing material.
Selank is studied chiefly as an animal-model anxiolytic with proposed secondary effects on memory and immune signaling. Reported mechanisms include modulation of the GABA-A receptor complex, inhibition of enkephalin-degrading enzymes, and shifts in monoamine turnover within limbic structures. Some experiments describe increased expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor in the hippocampus after repeated dosing. No single molecular target has been confirmed, and the peptide does not bind any receptor with the selectivity typical of a conventional small-molecule drug. Mechanism therefore remains a set of hypotheses rather than an established pathway.
Laboratory work relies on standard behavioral paradigms. Rodents are tested in the elevated plus maze, open field, and passive avoidance tasks, with outcomes compared against diazepam or vehicle controls. Intranasal dosing is used most often because it bypasses first-pass metabolism, though intraperitoneal and intravenous routes also appear in published protocols. Biochemical endpoints include tissue BDNF concentrations, cytokine levels, and monoamine metabolites. Human data are limited to small Russian trials reporting reduced anxiety scores; most were not prospectively registered, and few employed independent outcome assessment.
Lyophilized selank is normally supplied as a dry powder and is considered stable for extended periods when kept cold and dry. Moisture uptake is the main practical threat, because absorbed water promotes both hydrolysis and aggregation in the solid state. Vials are usually warmed to room temperature before opening so that condensation does not form on the powder. Supplier documentation commonly specifies -20 °C for routine storage, with -80 °C used for material intended to be archived for years.
Once dissolved, the peptide is markedly less stable than the dry powder. Aqueous solutions are subject to backbone hydrolysis and to microbial growth when they are handled without sterile technique. Buffered solutions near neutral pH are common for short-term laboratory work, while acidic conditions are sometimes used to improve solubility. Analytical laboratories generally prepare working solutions fresh rather than storing them, and a residual water film left in a reopened vial can seed degradation even when the container appears dry.
Reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography is the standard technique for estimating peptide purity. The result is a peak-area percentage, which describes how much of the detected material elutes as the main peak in one run. Mass spectrometry confirms the molecular mass and can reveal truncated, adducted, or otherwise modified species. Amino acid analysis or tandem mass spectrometry can address sequence fidelity when identity is in doubt. None of these measurements, taken alone, establishes that a sample is fit for any specific purpose.
| Property | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Principal proposed target | GABA-A receptor complex | Hypothesis derived mainly from animal pharmacology |
| Common behavioral assay | Elevated plus maze | Rodent test for anxiety-like behavior |
| Reported molecular marker | Hippocampal BDNF expression | Measured by immunoassay or mRNA quantification |
| Typical dosing route | Intranasal | Chosen to reduce first-pass metabolism |
| Reported plasma half-life | Minutes | Based on limited peptide stability data |
Dry powder is normally held at -20 degrees Celsius or lower, in a sealed container with desiccant and protection from light. Reconstituted solutions are usually kept at 2 to 8 degrees Celsius for short periods and frozen for longer ones. Proline residues at several positions are generally associated with some resistance to peptidase attack, but chemical stability still declines at neutral to alkaline pH and at elevated temperature. Exact shelf-life figures are product-specific and are not standardised across suppliers.
Identity and purity are usually assessed by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography, with mass spectrometry used to confirm molecular mass and sequence information. Amino acid analysis and peptide mapping may supplement these methods. Certified reference standards are scarce, and many commercial lots are sold as research chemicals without a pharmacopoeial monograph. Regulatory treatment differs by country: Selank is a registered prescription medicine in Russia, while in the European Union and the United States it is not an approved drug and may fall under research-chemical or unapproved-product frameworks.
Tuftsin, the parent structure, is a naturally occurring immunomodulatory tetrapeptide released from the Fc region of immunoglobulin G by spleen enzymes. Selank extends this four-residue sequence with three additional amino acids. The stated rationale is that the added tail slows enzymatic breakdown and may influence receptor interactions. How the full heptapeptide behaves at the molecular level is not firmly established, and proposed mechanisms often involve indirect modulation of neurotransmitter or immune signaling rather than a single defined target.
Selank is a synthetic heptapeptide developed in Russia. Its sequence is Thr-Lys-Pro-Arg-Pro-Gly-Pro, a seven-residue chain built around the natural tetrapeptide tuftsin. Researchers at the Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Russian Academy of Sciences first described the compound in the mid-1990s. The design combined the tuftsin core with an added Pro-Gly-Pro tail, a modification intended to extend the molecule's stability in biological fluids. Published work on the peptide has appeared mainly in Russian-language journals.
Reported activity for Selank centers on anxiolytic and nootropic effects. Russian clinical reports describe use in anxiety and in cognitive or attention-related complaints. Most of this evidence comes from studies conducted by the same research groups that developed the peptide. Independent replication in other countries remains limited, and no major Western regulatory agency has approved the compound for any indication. The gap between local reports and external verification is a recurring point in discussions of the peptide.
Pharmacokinetic data are limited. Like most short peptides, Selank is vulnerable to plasma and tissue peptidases, and its measured half-life in circulation is short, on a minutes scale. The Pro-Gly-Pro tail slows this degradation but does not eliminate it. Intranasal administration is the route described in most reports, with absorption through the nasal mucosa and a hypothesized path into the central nervous system that avoids the blood-brain barrier. Direct measurements of human brain exposure are unavailable, so distribution claims rest on inference from animal work.
Clinical evidence comes mainly from small studies conducted in Russia, several of which were open-label or lacked robust blinding. Reported outcomes include lower anxiety scores, changes in attention measures, and effects on asthenic states following illness. Sample sizes are typically in the tens of participants, and independent replication outside the region is scarce. Reviews published in English generally note the limited methodological quality of the underlying trials. Whether the compound produces clinically meaningful effects under rigorous conditions remains unresolved.
Regulatory status differs sharply by region. Selank holds a Russian marketing authorization, where it is supplied mainly as nasal drops, while authorities elsewhere have not approved it for medical use. Material sold internationally is therefore usually labeled as a research chemical rather than a medicine. Peer-reviewed publications come predominantly from Russian laboratories, and sample sizes are generally small. Whether the compound produces comparable effects under independent, well-controlled replication remains an open question that the broader literature has not settled.
Selank is a synthetic heptapeptide developed in Russia as a structural analogue of tuftsin, a naturally occurring immunomodulatory tetrapeptide. Its sequence, Thr-Lys-Pro-Arg-Pro-Gly-Pro, keeps the tuftsin core at the N-terminus and appends a Pro-Gly-Pro tail. Researchers at the Institute of Molecular Genetics in Moscow synthesized the compound during the 1990s while searching for peptides with combined anxiolytic and immunomodulatory activity. The added tail was intended to resist enzymatic cleavage and prolong the molecule's presence in circulation.
pleomorphism 1. Variability in the size, shape, or staining of cells and/or their nuclei, particularly as observed in histology and cytopathology, where morphological variation is frequently an indicator of a cellular abnormality such as disease or tumor formation. 2. In microbiology, the ability of some microorganisms such as certain bacteria and viruses to alter their morphology, metabolism, or mode of reproduction in response to changes in their environment.
== History == Flupirtine was discovered and developed between the 1970s and the 1990s by Chemiewerk Homburg in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, which became Degussa Pharma Group and then through mergers, ASTA Pharma and Asta Medica. Retigabine, a bioisostere of flupirtine, was discovered as part of the same program and has a similar mechanism of action. Flupirtine was approved for the treatment of pain in 1984 in Europe under the brand name Katadolon. As of 2013 it was used in 11 member countries: Bulgaria, Estonia, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Romania and Slovak Republic. Many generics entered the European market around 2011. It was never introduced to the United States market for any indication but in 2008, Adeona Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (now called Synthetic Biologics, Inc.) obtained an option to license issued and patent pending applications relating to flupirtine's use in the treatment of ophthalmic indications, particularly retinitis pigmentosa. As of 2016 it is marketed under many brand names, including Efiret, Flupigil, Flupirtin, Flupirtina, Flupirtine, Flupizen, Fluproxy, Katadolon, Metanor, Trancolong, and Zentiva.
== Early life and education == White was born in Wewoka, Oklahoma, in May 1940. White earned an amateur radio license at age 13 and a commercial Second-Class Radiotelephone License at the age of 17. He enrolled at the University of Colorado, eventually majoring in physics. After his graduation in 1963, he enrolled at the University of Washington, and received a master's degree in physics in 1965 under H.G. Dehmelt (Department of Physics) on the radio frequency spectrum of the H2+ ion. In 1969, he earned his doctoral degree in physiology and biophysics for his work planar lipid bilayers in the lab of J. Walter Woodbury. Prior to completing his postdoctoral studies at the University of Virginia in 1972, White served two years in the U.S. Army to the rank of captain.
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== Evolution == The insulin-like growth factor 2 receptor function evolved from the cation-independent mannose 6-phosphate receptor and is first seen in Monotremes. The IGF-2 binding site was likely acquired fortuitously with the generation of an exonic splice site enhancer cluster in exon 34, presumably necessitated by several kilobases of repeat element insertions in the preceding intron. A six-fold affinity maturation then followed during therian evolution, coincident with the onset of imprinting and consistent with the theory of parental conflict.
Fully annexed localities (Auteuil, Batignolles-Monceau, Belleville, Bercy, Charonne, Grenelle, La Chapelle, La Villette, Montmartre, Passy, and Vaugirard): Everything disappeared along with the registers of the Parisian arrondissements—both originals and duplicates. Partially annexed localities (Aubervilliers, Bagnolet, Clichy, Gentilly, Ivry, Montrouge, Neuilly, Pantin, Le Pré-Saint-Gervais, Saint-Mandé, Saint-Ouen, and Vanves) or non-annexed areas (the rest of what is today known as the Petite Couronne): The originals, having been preserved locally, are still accessible in municipal archives unless transferred to the Departmental Archives of Hauts-de-Seine, Seine-Saint-Denis, or Val-de-Marne. The duplicates, however, were destroyed, except for the decennial tables covering 1793–1859.
The exception to this rule is crocodiles, which have a four-chambered heart. In the heart of lungfish, the septum extends partway into the ventricle. This allows for some degree of separation between the de-oxygenated bloodstream destined for the lungs and the oxygenated stream that is delivered to the rest of the body. The absence of such a division in living amphibian species may be partly due to the amount of respiration that occurs through the skin; thus, the blood returned to the heart through the venae cavae is already partially oxygenated. As a result, there may be less need for a finer division between the two bloodstreams than in lungfish or other tetrapods. Nonetheless, in at least some species of amphibian, the spongy nature of the ventricle does seem to maintain more of a separation between the bloodstreams. Also, the original valves of the conus arteriosus have been replaced by a spiral valve that divides it into two parallel parts, thereby helping to keep the two bloodstreams separate.
=== Shear stress === Shear stress is another variable used in erosion and sediment transport models representing the force applied on a surface by a perpendicular force, and can be calculated using the following formula
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However, in the 2025 study, time to maximal effects was about 2.5 hours orally and about 1.2 hours intravenously. In an earlier 2016 study, intravenous LSD effects similarly peaked after about 1.7 hours. For comparison, intravenous dimethyltryptamine (DMT) given as a bolus has been found to produce maximal effects after about 2 minutes and intravenous psilocybin given over 60 seconds produces peak effects after about 4 minutes. Doses of LSD are said to be similar by oral and injectable routes, with the exception of intrathecal injection, in which the dose is reduced to about one-third of usual. The plasma protein binding of LSD in humans is unknown, but it is 65 to 90% bound to plasma proteins in guinea pigs.
=== Catheterization === Right heart catheterization is the test used to test for elevated diastolic ventricular pressures. This test is more invasive and would be performed after inconclusive endomyocardial biopsy samples.
Larger supermarkets in North America and in Europe typically sell many items among many brands, sizes and varieties. U.S. publisher Supermarket News lists the following categories, for example: Hypermarkets have a larger range of non-food categories such as clothing, electronics, household decoration and appliances.
=== Worms === The microscopic soil-dwelling nematode roundworms Panagrolaimus detritophagus and Plectus parvus are the only eukaryotic organisms that have been proven to be viable after cryopreservation for many years (30,000 to 40,000 years). In this case, the preservation was natural rather than artificial, due to permafrost. They came alive when warmed up.
Radio (the general technology of communicating using radio waves) has many practical applications, which include broadcasting, voice communication, data communication, radar, radiolocation, medical treatments, and remote control.
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Intranasal administration predominates in both animal and human research because it avoids hepatic first-pass metabolism. Injectable and intraperitoneal routes appear in animal work mainly for comparison.
Behavioral endpoints include time spent in open arms of the elevated plus maze and avoidance latencies. Biochemical endpoints include BDNF concentration, cytokine levels, and monoamine metabolite ratios in brain tissue.
Most published studies are small, originate from a limited number of laboratories, and lack independent replication. Dose-response relationships, measured brain exposure, and long-term outcomes are not well characterized.
Sealed, desiccated storage at -20 °C or colder is the standard recommendation for research-grade material. Vials should reach room temperature before they are opened, which limits condensation. Repeated temperature cycling is discouraged.