Peptides vs. Steroids
- April 22, 2024
- Written by : Rebecca LaMarca, MSN, APN-BC, CNS
Anabolic steroids have commonly been used by athletes and bodybuilders as a performance-enhancing drug for decades. While anabolic steroids have legitimate medical uses, there are roughly 3 to 4 million people who use anabolic steroids for nonmedical purposes, according to the Cleveland Clinic.1
More recently, it’s become trendy in the bodybuilding space to use peptides to help achieve muscle growth instead of steroids. Peptides are short strings of amino acids joined together through a covalent bond and serve as the building blocks of proteins.2
What is peptide therapy?
Peptides have been used therapeutically for a century, since researchers discovered insulin’s potential to treat type 1 diabetes. “Peptides are currently under development as drugs for treating several pathologies, including microbial infections, obesity, and cancer, and also for developing cell-targeting platforms and improving cell-penetrating properties,” according to a 2023 study from the University of Pavia in Italy. “Particularly, cell-penetrating peptides are now under investigation as drug delivery tools for anti-cancer, antibacterial, and antiviral therapies.”3
Is peptide therapy safe?
Generally, peptide therapy is considered safe if taken under the care of a health care professional. Safety concerns arise when buying supplements online without a prescription. Additionally, there are risks of contamination if users share needles or otherwise use nonsterile needles to inject peptides.
Is peptide therapy FDA approved?
From 2016 to 2022, the FDA approved 31 peptides,4 including tirzepatide. But the FDA has only approved a few growth hormone secretagogues, or GHS, which is a commonly-used peptide among bodybuilders. Peptide hormones, growth factors, related substances, and mimetics are all on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s 2024 Prohibited List.5
Non-injection peptide options
Can you take peptides orally?
Yes, oral peptides are an option. Collagen peptides are an especially popular option that comes in powdered form and can easily be added to smoothies or other food and drink. Collagen peptides may help maintain skin elasticity, ease joint pain and strengthen bone and muscles, according to the Cleveland Clinic.6
According to a 2022 study from Soheil Haddadzadegan, Farid Dorkoosh and Andreas Bernkop-Schnürch, “the oral administration of therapeutic peptides and proteins is favored from a patient and commercial point of view. In order to reach the systemic circulation after oral administration, these drugs have to overcome numerous barriers including the enzymatic, sulfhydryl, mucus and epithelial barrier.”7
Are peptide nasal sprays effective?
Researchers at the University of Augusta in Georgia published a study in JCI Insight8 in June 2022 that outlined how they developed an A1R-CT peptide that “augments the brain’s natural mechanism to help prevent seizures and protect neurons in research models of both Alzheimer’s and epilepsy,” according to an Augusta University news release.9 The A1R-CT peptide is administered through a nasal spray.
REFERENCES
- Professional, C. C. M. (n.d.). Anabolic steroids. Cleveland Clinic. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/5521-anabolic-steroids
- Forbes, J., & Krishnamurthy, K. (2023, August 28). Biochemistry, peptide. StatPearls – NCBI Bookshelf. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK562260/
- Rossino, G., Marchese, E., Galli, G., Verde, F., Finizio, M., Serra, M., Linciano, P., & Collina, S. (2023). Peptides as therapeutic Agents: Challenges and opportunities in the Green Transition Era. Molecules/Molecules Online/Molecules Annual, 28(20), 7165. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28207165
- Shaer, D. A., Musaimi, O. A., Alberício, F., & De La Torre, B. G. (2024). 2023 FDA TIDES (Peptides and oligonucleotides) harvest. Pharmaceuticals, 17(2), 243. https://doi.org/10.3390/ph17020243
- World Anti-Doping Agency. (n.d.). The prohibited list. World Anti Doping Agency. https://www.wada-ama.org/en/prohibited-list?page=0&q=ghs&all=1
- Clinic, C. (2024, March 19). Everything you should know about collagen peptides. Cleveland Clinic. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/what-do-collagen-peptides-do
- Haddadzadegan, S., Dorkoosh, F. A., & Bernkop‐Schnürch, A. (2022). Oral delivery of therapeutic peptides and proteins: Technology landscape of lipid-based nanocarriers. Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews, 182, 114097. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addr.2021.114097
- Saggu, S., Chen, Y., Chen, L., Pizarro, D., Pati, S., Law, W. J., McMahon, L. L., Jiao, K., & Wang, Q. (2022). A peptide blocking the ADORA1-neurabin interaction is anticonvulsant and inhibits epilepsy in an Alzheimer’s model. JCI Insight, 7(11). https://doi.org/10.1172/jci.insight.155002
- Baker, T. (2024, March 13). Peptide delivered by nasal spray can reduce seizure activity, protect neurons in Alzheimer’s, epilepsy. Jagwire. https://jagwire.augusta.edu/peptide-delivered-by-nasal-spray-can-reduce-seizure-activity-protect-neurons-in-alzheimers-epilepsy/
Share 
Tweet 
Share 
Email 
