AOD9604

AOD-9604 - Overview

AOD9604 is a synthetic peptide - a human growth hormone derivative, initially developed to be a fat burning compound, helping obesity and weight loss management. GH’s last 16 amino acids were altered and reproduced into a specific peptide called GH Fragment 176-191, or simply AOD9604. 

Furthermore, studies have shown it does not affect insulin-like growth factor 1 levels or insulin, therefore, it did not prove to be a factor in promoting glucose intolerance or diabetes. There is also no evidence the body forms AOD9604 antibodies or provokes an immune system response, so the researchers believe it has a potential in future therapy.

AOD-9604 - Obesity and Fat Burning Research

AOD-9604 was originally developed as an analogue of HGH, designed to combat fat and obesity. 

In the sea of animal studies, we found a human one conducted in Australia, involving 300 obese individuals who were treated with AOD-9604 over the course of 12 weeks. It showed incredible results - peptide treatment more than tripled the weight loss effects compared to the placebo. The study also showed the likelihood of developing the resistance to the treatment as being extremely low; suggesting that long-term treatment might lead to an even greater weight loss over time. Not only that, AOD-9604 was also held up against the world’s largest weight loss selling drug at the time, helping patients achieve even greater weight loss without any side effects.

Speaking of animal studies, it's worth mentioning one on mice predisposed to obesity where the effects of AOD-9604 were evaluated in a 14-day weight loss run. At the beginning of the study, it was hypothesized that the peptide binds to the receptors found on white fat cells, thus enabling weight loss. But, as the study went by, even mice lacking in these receptors experienced a significant fat loss. 

What’s most promising about AOD though, is that, unlike other weight loss and obesity drugs, it both suppresses the appetite as well as stimulating fat metabolism. This is why this particular peptide became so massively popular and talked about and why there is such a growing interest in making it commercially available for obese patients.

AOD-9604 - Joint Pain Research

It might be a bit surprising for us to be talking about joint pain relief after just having talked about weight loss, but AOD-9604 showed some promising results even in this area.

This study was done on rats with arthritic joints, where an injection applied directly to the affected joint. The injections were guided using ultrasound guidance and, over time, resulted in cartilage regeneration and positive changes in its microscopic structure.

These changes were clinically observed and measured, and the results clearly showed improvement in arthritic joints. Researchers also tried combining AOD-9604 with other common treatment options (HA acid), and found that it works even better in such combinations. 

This peptide also shows potential in diagnostics and revealing new pathways and treatment options, so its future is bright. But, we need more research and studies before introducing it as a viable arthritis treatment.

AOD-9604 - Heart Disease Research

First of all, we have to say that AOD-9604 does not affect heart (or cardiovascular health) directly. Through weight loss, joint pain relief and improvements in mobility, it helps reduce the risk of heart disease (by taking some of the load off of the cardiovascular system).

Of course, we’ve witnessed some claims that this peptide does indeed improve heart health, but these have yet to be confirmed by large-scale medical studies. So far, we haven’t seen them but we remain hopeful for the future.

References:

Stier, H., Vos, E., & Kenley, D. (2013). Safety and Tolerability of the Hexadecapeptide AOD9604 in Humans. Journal Of Endocrinology And Metabolism, 3(1-2), 7-15.

Heffernan M, Summers RJ, Thorburn A, Ogru E, Gianello R, Jiang WJ, Ng FM. The effects of human GH and its lipolytic fragment (AOD9604) on lipid metabolism following chronic treatment in obese mice and beta(3)-AR knock-out mice. Endocrinology. 2001 Dec;142(12):5182-9. doi: 10.1210/endo.142.12.8522. PMID: 11713213.

Kwon DR, Park GY. Effect of Intra-articular Injection of AOD9604 with or without Hyaluronic Acid in Rabbit Osteoarthritis Model. Ann Clin Lab Sci. 2015 Summer;45(4):426-32. PMID: 26275694.

https://www.news-medical.net/news/2004/12/16/6878.aspx

Ng FM, Sun J, Sharma L, Libinaka R, Jiang WJ, Gianello R. Metabolic studies of a synthetic lipolytic domain (AOD9604) of human growth hormone. Horm Res. 2000;53(6):274-8. doi: 10.1159/000053183. PMID: 11146367.