The porcine brain hydrolysate prescribed across Europe and Asia for stroke, TBI, and dementia — a cocktail of neuropeptides and amino acids that doesn’t quite fit the single-peptide mold.
Cerebrolysin is not a single peptide — it’s a standardized enzymatic hydrolysate of purified porcine brain tissue, containing a mix of neuropeptides, free amino acids, and biogenic amines. Manufactured by EVER Neuro Pharma (Austria) and prescribed in ~50 countries for stroke recovery, TBI, and dementia.
Not FDA approved in the US but widely used clinically in Europe, Russia, and much of Asia. The mechanism is multi-target, which is both its strength (broad neurotrophic effect) and weakness (harder to study in controlled clinical trials).
Approved in 50+ countries for neurological conditions. Not FDA approved. Not WADA prohibited. Available through international pharmacies.
Contains peptide fragments that mimic the activity of endogenous neurotrophic factors (BDNF, NGF, CNTF, GDNF). Supports neuronal survival, differentiation, and regeneration in damaged CNS tissue.
Reduces excitotoxicity (glutamate-driven neuronal death) and oxidative stress. Relevant in acute ischemic injury (stroke) and chronic degenerative disease.
Upregulates LTP (long-term potentiation) in hippocampal circuits — the cellular basis of memory formation. This is the mechanism behind its cognitive-enhancement effects.
| Condition | Evidence |
|---|---|
| Acute ischemic stroke | CASTA was negative on its primary endpoint. Heiss 2012 (PMID 22282884) randomised 1,070 patients within 12 hours of onset — not 48–72, as this guide previously said — to 30 mL Cerebrolysin daily or saline for 10 days. The confirmatory endpoint showed no significant difference. A post hoc subgroup with NIHSS > 12 trended favourably (OR 1.27, CI lower bound 0.97) with lower 90-day mortality, and the authors said it “should be confirmed by a further clinical trial.” The 2023 Cochrane review (PMID 37818733, 7 RCTs, 1,773 patients) concluded with moderate certainty that Cerebrolysin probably has no effect on all-cause death, and indicates a potential increase in non-fatal serious adverse events |
| Traumatic brain injury | The strongest positive result, and small. The CAPTAIN prospective meta-analysis (Vester 2021, PMID 33620612) pooled 185 patients with moderate-to-severe TBI and found a small-to-medium effect favouring Cerebrolysin on a multidimensional composite of functional and neuropsychological scales, significant at day 30 and day 90 (day 30 SMD 0.31, p = 0.0156). A composite endpoint in 185 patients is a real signal, not a definitive one |
| Alzheimer’s disease | Weaker than stated here previously. The Cochrane evidence covers vascular dementia, not Alzheimer’s, and we could not substantiate “MMSE improvements in multiple RCTs” for Alzheimer’s specifically at a comparable level of review |
| Vascular dementia | A positive pooled effect the reviewers themselves discount. Cochrane 2019 (PMID 31710397, 6 RCTs, 597 participants) found improved cognition (SMD 0.36, 95% CI 0.13–0.58) — but graded it very low-quality evidence, noted every study with disclosed funding was industry-supported, and concluded that if benefits exist “the effects may be too small to be clinically meaningful” |
| Off-label nootropic | Popular in biohacker / nootropic community; anecdotal strong effects, no controlled trials in healthy users |
Cerebrolysin is the clearest case on this site of wide clinical use outstripping the evidence. It is prescribed in around 50 countries, and the two Cochrane reviews of it are unenthusiastic: very low-quality evidence of a possibly-not-meaningful benefit in vascular dementia, and moderate-certainty evidence of no mortality benefit in stroke alongside a possible increase in non-fatal serious adverse events.
Worth holding both halves. Decades of prescribing across many health systems is not nothing, and the TBI signal is genuine if small. But “standard of care in several countries” is a statement about practice, not about trial results, and this guide previously let the first stand in for the second.
Build your protocol, log every dose, monitor your body's response, and get reminders so you never miss a dose.
Start Tracking FreeNot medical advice. These figures describe what is reported in the literature and what practitioners and communities do — not a recommendation, and for most compounds here no human dose-finding study exists. Talk to a qualified healthcare provider.
Unlike most compounds here, Cerebrolysin is measured in millilitres of a fixed-strength solution, and the published protocols span 1 mL to 50 mL a day. Those are not competing opinions about one dose — they are different tiers for different purposes. Both the high clinical doses and the low outpatient doses are in real use, so both are listed below with what stands behind each.
| Tier | Protocol | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| 50 mL/day | 10 days IV, then two follow-on cycles of 10 mL/day for 10 days | The CAPTAIN II traumatic-brain-injury protocol (PMID 33072197). The highest routine schedule in the literature. |
| 30 mL/day | 10 – 21 consecutive days IV | The most common trial dose. Used for 10 days in moderate TBI (PMID 42110924, n=340) and for 21 days after thrombectomy with a second course at 69–90 days (PMID 41739286). |
| 10 mL/day | 10-day cycles, IM or slow IV | The follow-on tier inside CAPTAIN II's taper, and the low arm of several cognitive studies. The lowest dose with trial data behind it. |
| 5 – 10 mL/day | 10 – 20 days IM, 2 – 4 courses a year | Off-label and biohacker practice, and where most community protocols sit. Below the trial range but adjacent to it. |
| 1 – 2 mL/day | 20 – 40 days IM | A low outpatient tier that appears in course material and some European practice, and matches the 1 and 2 mL ampoule presentations. No trial supports it — it sits an order of magnitude below anything studied. Listed because it is genuinely in use, not because the evidence backs it. |
Two things worth holding onto. The trial doses are acute — stroke, thrombectomy, moderate-to-severe TBI — in patients under hospital supervision, not healthy adults using it for cognition. And the strongest-looking recent results are propensity-matched cohorts against historical controls rather than randomised trials; the authors of the thrombectomy study call it hypothesis-generating themselves. See the evidence section for where the randomised data actually lands.
Up to about 5 mL is given intramuscularly. Larger volumes go intravenously, and the highest tiers are given as a slow infusion in saline rather than a push. Volume, not preference, is what decides the route.
Cerebrolysin ships as a pre-mixed solution in sealed glass ampoules — no reconstitution. Ampoules come in 1, 2, 5, 10 and 20 mL depending on indication and country, so check the box before doing volume maths; do not assume every ampoule is 5 mL. Keep at room temperature or refrigerated, protect from light, and use immediately once an ampoule is opened.
Pre-filled with a typical Cerebrolysin setup. Edit any field — the draw updates live.
Insulin syringe — 100 units = 1 mL
Free account. Saves your reconstitution + schedules doses + tracks every vial.
Dosing cheat sheet, reconstitution reference, and cycle planning — delivered to your inbox.
Cerebrolysin is a research peptide not approved by the FDA for human use. It is sold only as a research chemical, and StackTrax does not endorse or facilitate personal use.
Quality varies enormously among research-chemical suppliers. At minimum, look for:
Lyvn does not carry Cerebrolysin. They are the vendor we recommend elsewhere on this site, and they publish the full independent panel per batch — which makes their catalogue a useful yardstick for the criteria above even on a compound they do not stock. We are not recommending a specific supplier for Cerebrolysin itself, because we have no basis to.
For research use only. Not for human consumption. 21+.
Build your protocol, log every dose, monitor your body's response, and get reminders so you never miss a dose.
Start Tracking FreeNo. Cerebrolysin is not FDA approved in the US. However, it is approved in 50+ countries — including across Europe, Russia, and much of Asia — for neurological conditions like stroke recovery, TBI, and dementia. It is manufactured by EVER Neuro Pharma in Austria and is available through international pharmacies. Not WADA prohibited.
Cerebrolysin is not a single peptide. It is a standardized enzymatic hydrolysate of purified porcine brain tissue, containing a mix of neuropeptides, free amino acids, and biogenic amines. The peptide fragments mimic the activity of endogenous neurotrophic factors like BDNF, NGF, CNTF, and GDNF. The multi-target nature is both its strength (broad neurotrophic effect) and its weakness (harder to study in controlled trials).
The CASTA trial and others showed improved outcomes when given in the first 48–72 hours of acute ischemic stroke — it is standard of care in Russia, Austria, and China for this indication. The CAPTAIN trials showed functional improvement in traumatic brain injury, and Cerebrolysin is prescribed in Europe for TBI recovery. 2023 and 2019 Cochrane reviews (PMIDs 37818733, 31710397) note the overall safety evidence is low to very low certainty, so the evidence base is weaker than the volume of clinical use implies.
Either intramuscular (smaller doses) or slow IV infusion (larger doses). Standard neurological courses use 5–30 mL total daily for 10–20 consecutive days, repeated quarterly or biannually. It is supplied as pre-mixed glass ampoules — no reconstitution needed. Ampoule sizes vary by country (1, 2, 5, 10, and 20 mL), so check the product before calculating total volume.
Community protocols typically use 5–10 mL IM daily for 10–20 days, 2–4 times per year — lower than the acute-stroke range but consistent with the pattern Russian and European clinicians use for milder cognitive indications. There are no controlled trials in healthy users, so any cognitive-enhancement effects rest on anecdote.
Common side effects include injection site reactions (can sting significantly IM), transient dizziness, mild headache, nausea, and flushing during IV administration if infused too quickly. The product labeling carries a long-standing caution about seizure threshold — best treated as a reason to use with specialist input if you have a seizure-disorder history rather than a hard contraindication. Do not use with known hypersensitivity to porcine proteins or during pregnancy. The Cochrane reviews flag low-certainty safety evidence and mortality / serious-adverse-event signals in some trials, so monitor appropriately.
Disclaimer: This guide is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. The compounds discussed are not FDA approved for human use. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider before starting any new supplement or peptide protocol. StackTrax does not sell peptides or supplements directly — purchase links go to third-party vendors. StackTrax is not responsible for the products, quality, or business practices of any third-party vendor.
© 2026 StackTrax, LLC. All rights reserved.
Privacy · Terms · Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information
StackTrax guides cover peptides and compounds that are not FDA-approved for the uses discussed. The dosing, reconstitution, and safety information is compiled from published research and community protocols for educational purposes only.
Before using any compound mentioned here, consult a qualified healthcare provider. StackTrax does not sell, prescribe, or recommend these substances for personal use.