Carl read the papersWhat it actually is
Vesugen is a synthetic tripeptide, Lys-Glu-Asp (KED), from the bioregulator programme of the St Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology. Older papers call it T-38.
It is pitched at blood vessels: endothelial cells, capillaries, circulation in older people. The developers have since pushed it toward the brain as well, with mouse and cell work in Alzheimer's models. In Russia it is registered as an oral dietary supplement.
How it’s thought to work
- Endothelial signalling — In cultured endothelium from atherosclerosis and restenosis models, KED brought endothelin-1 back toward normal and raised connexin and sirtuin-1.
- Cell renewal — Raised the proliferation marker Ki-67 in ageing vascular cell cultures; docking models place it on the promoter of the gene that makes Ki-67.
- Capillary strength — The developer's patent claims it strengthens capillary walls, with small human groups reported in the filing.
- Neurons (newer angle) — In Alzheimer's model mice it prevented dendritic spine loss; in neurons made from elderly donors' skin cells it grew more dendrite branches.
What the research says
More than most of the family, which is a low bar. The human work: two 41-patient before-and-after studies from one surgical team, on leg blood flow after artery surgery and on vascular erectile dysfunction; a 32-person study (ages 41 to 83) that also found pro-oxidant activity and fewer CD34+ blood stem cells, which the authors called inhibited blood cell production; a 110-person comparison of anti-ageing methods; and a 22-patient study in older people with mouth inflammation after cancer treatment, where Vesugen was added to standard care together with another supplement, so its own effect can't be pulled out. All Russian-language, none placebo-controlled as far as the abstracts say, none registered. The animal headline is an Alzheimer's mouse study at 400 mcg/kg daily by injection: less dendritic spine loss, and only a trend on plasticity.
- Khavinson-family tripeptide (KED) aimed at blood vessels; registered in Russia as an oral supplement.
- Cell work: normalised endothelin-1, raised sirtuin-1 and Ki-67 in ageing and atherosclerotic endothelial cultures.
- Small Russian human studies (41, 41, 32, 110 and 22 people) report circulation, 'biological age' and other benefits; one also reported pro-oxidant activity and fewer CD34+ cells.
- Alzheimer's mouse model (400 mcg/kg/day): prevented dendritic spine loss. No registered human trial.
Reported protocols
These are the doses the peptide community actually reports running (Reddit & forums), alongside published research — logged for education, not as a recommendation to use.
| Parameter | Commonly reported range |
|---|---|
| Community dose | Not established. We found no vendor-independent user reports with numbers worth repeating. |
| Developer's patent | Claims 0.01 to 100 mcg per kg at least once daily, by injection. In the patent's elderly purpura group, 100 mcg was injected into muscle daily for 10 days. |
| Animal reference | 400 mcg/kg per day, injected, in Alzheimer's model mice. A mouse number, not a human dose. |
| Russian product | Oral capsule supplement. The registry entry we checked lists the amino acids, not the amount per capsule. |
| Carl's note | The English abstracts of the human studies don't report doses. Anyone quoting a precise Vesugen protocol is quoting a seller. |
Common use cases
| Goal | Community protocol notes |
|---|---|
| Circulation in older adults | the original use case; small uncontrolled Russian studies only |
| Vascular erectile dysfunction | one 41-patient before-and-after study, no control group described in the abstract |
| Brain ageing (newer angle) | mouse and cell work so far; often paired with Pinealon in the Russian human studies |
Mixing it (reconstitution)
Freeze-dried peptides must be reconstituted with bacteriostatic water before they can be measured. Carl’s calculator turns “mg in the vial + ml of water + target dose” into “units on the syringe” — and tells you how long the vial lasts.
→ Open the Reconstitution Calculator
Injection & handling
No injectable dose has been established for people. The developer's patent used intramuscular injection in small patient groups and claims a per-kilogram range rather than a fixed amount; the Russian consumer product is a capsule. The mouse work used daily intraperitoneal injection (into the belly cavity), which is a lab route, not a human one. If grey-market powder gets used regardless, treat it like any research vial: bacteriostatic water, sterile technique, refrigerated after mixing, and stop if the injection site looks wrong.
Stacks it appears in
- With Pinealon — The pairing used in several of the Russian human studies. Pinealon (Glu-Asp-Arg) is the family's brain peptide.
- With Epithalon — Tested side by side in the family's neuron and stem-cell papers. No study tests them as a combination in people.
Sources
- NCBI MeSH: lysyl-glutamyl-aspartic acid [Supplementary Concept]
- Khavinson et al. 2012, Peptides tissue-specifically stimulate cell differentiation during ageing
- Khavinson et al. 2014, Epigenetic aspects of peptide regulation of vascular endothelial cell proliferation (Russian)
- Kozlov et al. 2016, Vasoprotective peptide KED in atherosclerosis and restenosis (Russian)
- Kitachev et al. 2014, Vascular peptide bioregulators in lower-limb arterial insufficiency (Russian; abstract is about erectile dysfunction)
- Kitachov et al. 2013, Vasoactive peptide in lower-limb chronic arterial insufficiency treatment (Russian)
- Meshchaninov et al. 2015, Synthetic peptides and ageing in patients with chronic polymorbidity (Russian)
- Myakotnykh et al. 2016, Comparative analysis of geroprotective methods (Russian)
- Filippova 2013, Treatment of chemical stomatitis in people of advanced and senile age (Russian)
- Bashkireva and Artamonova 2012, Peptide correction of neurotic disorders in truck drivers (Russian)
- Khavinson et al. 2021, Neuroprotective tripeptides in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease
- Correction to Khavinson et al. 2021 Alzheimer's mouse paper (Pharmaceuticals 2025)
- Kraskovskaya et al. 2024, Short peptides protect fibroblast-derived induced neurons from age-related changes
- Khavinson et al. 2021, Peptide KED and neurogenesis regulation in Alzheimer's disease (review)
- Khavinson et al. 2022, SASP of cardiovascular cells and peptide regulation (Cells, review)
- Khavinson et al. 2022, Transport of biologically active ultrashort peptides using POT and LAT carriers (Int J Mol Sci)
- Patent US7851449B2: peptide for treating microcirculation disorders (H-Lys-Glu-Asp-OH)
- RLS (rlsnet.ru) registry: Vezugen, dietary supplement (BAD)
- RLS (rlsnet.ru) registry: Vesilut, dietary supplement (BAD)
- SAHPRA, Peptide Products: Public Information (May 2026)
- WADA Prohibited List 2026 (S0 and S2.2.1)
- ClinicalTrials.gov search: vesugen
