# Cortexin

Russian brain-cortex extract, Cerebrolysin cousin; 10-day IM courses.

- Page: https://peprank.xyz/peptides/cortexin
- Category: Neuroprotection & repair (Research peptide)
- Also known as: Кортексин; bovine/porcine cortex polypeptide extract
- Routes: Injection
- Safety tier: Strict: Caution · Balanced: Caution · Evidence only: Caution
- Risk axes (0 none to 3 severe): Seen harm 1, Mechanism 2, Data gap 1, Silent harm 1, Product 3
- Positive: 50% of 20 graded reports glowing or positive, shrunk toward the 49% all-report average by 8 reports' weight
- Rank: #13 of 61 research peptides
- Graded reports: 20 (Glowing 2, Positive 8, Mixed 7, Nothing 1, Negative 2)
- Evidence: Approved drug — in Russia; one RCT in stroke (272 pts) within the Cochrane review
- Access: Grey market
- Onset: Some feel calm or stimulated within hours of the first shot; others notice it only late in the 10-day course or not at all.
- Lasts: Users describe effects carrying across days between shots and for weeks after a course; the label repeats the 10-day course after 3-6 months.
- Cost per month: ≈ €36–90 (researchers' estimate)
- Updated: 2026-10-30

**Why Avoid under the strict bar:** Animal-brain extract given by injection: immune/allergic and theoretical prion risk, and it shares Cerebrolysin's SAE signal.

## What users report

Small but positive niche: some who felt nothing on Cerebrolysin report clear cognitive and anxiety benefit from Cortexin, and vice versa. Users split on its character: most call it more stimulating than Cerebrolysin (too much for anxious users, even at 2.5 mg), a minority find it calming or sedating. Flat non-response is reported less often than for Cerebrolysin (perhaps 15-25%), but many reports are mixed: a day of brain fog or flu-like symptoms, or effects that stop on a repeat course.

**Effects:** concentration and brain-fog relief; sleep and anxiety improvement; motivation

**Downsides:** overstimulation/agitation; injection soreness; inconsistent response

**Risks:** animal (cattle/pig) brain-derived: allergic/immune reactions, theoretical prion transmission; pooled with Cerebrolysin in Cochrane 2023 (272-patient Cortexin trial), which found a signal of non-fatal serious adverse events for the class

**Typical use:** 10 mg IM daily for 10 days.

**Getting it:** Prescription drug in Russia and some CIS countries (lyophilised 5 or 10 mg vials); elsewhere bought from Russian online pharmacies. It has to be reconstituted, usually with saline, procaine or Cerebrolysin.

**Stacked with:** Cerebrolysin (The usual pairing: Cerebrolysin is used to reconstitute the vial and both are injected together, or the two are rotated between courses.); Actovegin (Third member of the 'neuro recovery' trio promoted in Cerebrolysin communities.)

## Risk profile

- **Seen harm 1/3:** Its Russian label lists very rare anaphylactic shock and laryngeal angioedema among adverse reactions, without a warning. In its one RCT (n=272) 7 of 208 treated patients died against 0 of 64 on placebo, judged unrelated and not significant, and Cochrane left it out of the SAE analysis for unclear reporting: confounded serious reports.
- **Mechanism 2/3:** A calf and pig brain-cortex extract injected intramuscularly: immune and allergic reactions are credible, and prion transmission is a theoretical, unquantified risk.
- **Data gap 1/3:** Approved in Russia, with one 272-patient stroke RCT of unclear reporting quality.
- **Silent harm 1/3:** Allergic reactions are immediate; agitation and tachycardia appear within hours.
- **Product 3/3:** Imported Russian ampoules bought without prescription and injected; no testing data exist for what is sold online.
- **Never if:** Allergy to bovine or porcine proteins; Pregnancy or breastfeeding (no human reproductive data)

## Top reports

- Glowing, social, 10 mg/day with 10 mL Cerebrolysin: “I used 10ml of cerebrolysin with 10mg cortexin for about a month straight. Literally destroyed my social anxiety and I just felt much calmer all the time but had much more energy at the same time.” — [r/Cerebrolysin](https://www.reddit.com/r/Cerebrolysin/comments/uewv66/cerebrolysin_cortexin/i6skmd7/)
- Glowing, focus: “Same here, I did Cerebrolysin for 10 days and had a mediocre experience, but Cortexin for 10 days made a big difference my brain fog is almost gone.” — [r/Cerebrolysin](https://www.reddit.com/r/Cerebrolysin/comments/1lme1ry/cortexin/nk74a9k/)
- Positive, mood, 10 mg/day: “I have done 410 ml of cerebrolysin and felt nothing but luckily Cortexin worked for me.” — [r/Cerebrolysin](https://www.reddit.com/r/Cerebrolysin/comments/1dlhibs/injected_10_10_mg_cortexin_and_felt_great/)
- Positive, memory: “I actually like cortexin better than Cerebrolysin. Feel more cognitive benefits.” — [r/Cerebrolysin](https://www.reddit.com/r/Cerebrolysin/comments/1lme1ry/cortexin/n08csyo/)
- Positive, anxiety: “for me, cortexin has a more calming effect but i don’t feel the effects are as prominent as cerebro in terms of cognition. I think it’s better for stress management.” — [r/Cerebrolysin](https://www.reddit.com/r/Cerebrolysin/comments/1k3jlzu/does_cortexin_have_a_better_cognitive_effect_than/mo44gzo/)

## Cheapest in Europe

- [EuropeChemist](https://europechemist.com/product/cortexin/) (NL): Cortexin 10 mg, 10 vials/pack, €110, €1.10/mg

## Studies

- [Aliferova et al. 2014: low-dose Cortexin in acute ischaemic stroke, double-blind placebo-controlled trial (Russian)](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24874316/) (rct, n=272, 2014): Two 10-day courses of 10 mg IM beat one course or placebo over 70 days, per the authors (the abstract gives no effect sizes); this is the Cortexin trial later pooled in the Cochrane review.
- [Ziganshina et al. 2023 (Cochrane): Cerebrolysin and Cerebrolysin-like agents for acute ischaemic stroke](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37818733/) (meta-analysis, n=1773, 2023): Pooling the Cortexin trial with six Cerebrolysin trials, no effect on death and more non-fatal serious adverse events than placebo.
- [Zhang et al. 2019: Cerebrolysin vs other peptide preparations (incl. Cortexin) after embolic stroke in rats](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30665068/) (animal, 2019): In a blinded comparison, Cortexin did no better than saline on neurological outcome or lesion volume; only Cerebrolysin improved outcome (study from a group with Cerebrolysin ties).
- [Fedin et al. 2025: intravenous vs intramuscular Cortexin in ischaemic stroke (Russian)](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41524350/) (rct, n=490, 2025): IV and IM forms gave similar 90-day recovery and similar adverse-event rates; there was no untreated comparison group.
- [DIACORT 2026: Cortexin for neurological complications of type 2 diabetes (Russian)](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42133422/) (rct, n=110, 2026): Ten 10 mg IM doses added to standard care improved MoCA, anxiety and depression scores and neuropathy symptoms at 90 days versus standard care alone; not placebo-controlled.

## Sources

- [Cochrane 2023: Cerebrolysin and Cerebrolysin-like agents (incl. Cortexin) for acute ischaemic stroke](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37818733/)