Peplo · Reconstitution calculator
Cerebrolysin
Neuropeptide preparation of low-molecular-weight peptides and free amino acids that mimics endogenous neurotrophic factors; used for neuroprotection and cognitive/neurorehabilitative support. Ready-to-use ampoules.
cognitiveReconstitution calculator
The total peptide in the vial — the mg number on the label (e.g. 5 mg). This is your whole supply, not one dose.
The sterile water you add to dissolve the powder (this is called reconstituting). More water makes small doses easier to measure.
How much you take in one injection. 1 mg = 1000 mcg.
Draw to 120 units
1.20 mL on a U-100 insulin syringe
A starting reference, not medical advice — see how we source this.
- Half-life
- ~4 h
- Route
- IM
- Storage
- Once added to an infusion solution, use immediately; do not store (~1 days)
- Citations
- 4 referenced
US regulatory status
Not approved by the FDA for human use; studied as a research and clinical preparation requiring qualified medical oversight.
What is Cerebrolysin?
Cerebrolysin is a preparation of low-molecular-weight peptides and free amino acids intended to mimic endogenous neurotrophic factors, supplied as ready-to-use ampoules. It has been studied for neuroprotection and cognitive or neurorehabilitative support.
How Cerebrolysin works
Standardized mixture of neuropeptides and free amino acids with BDNF-, GDNF-, CNTF-, and NGF-like activity. Crosses the blood-brain barrier and promotes neuroprotection, neuroplasticity, and neurogenesis; in dementia models it reduces beta-amyloid deposition and tau phosphorylation.
What the research says
Research describes it as a standardized mixture with BDNF-, GDNF-, CNTF-, and NGF-like activity that crosses the blood-brain barrier, and in dementia models reports have examined reductions in beta-amyloid deposition and tau phosphorylation. Cited work includes a pharmacology review of neurotrophic treatment for acute and chronic neurological disorders and a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled multicenter trial in vascular dementia. Additional references examined its safety profile across dementia and stroke trials, and a meta-analysis assessed its use in acute ischemic stroke.
- 2011Cerebrolysin in vascular dementia: improvement of clinical outcome in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled multicenter trial
- 2012The pharmacology of neurotrophic treatment with Cerebrolysin: brain protection and repair to counteract pathologies of acute and chronic neurological disorders
- 2012Safety profile of Cerebrolysin: clinical experience from dementia and stroke trials
- 2017Efficacy and Safety of Cerebrolysin for Acute Ischemic Stroke: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials
Evidence limitations
The available clinical evidence comes largely from dementia and stroke trials and reflects a comparatively larger clinical literature than most compounds in this batch.
Safety & use boundary
Cerebrolysin is studied as a research and clinical preparation and should be regarded as requiring qualified medical oversight. This page is educational information and is not medical advice; anyone considering it should consult a clinician.
Published protocols
Dosing figures reported in the cited research. Educational reference, not a recommendation.
- 2012 study
cognitive
1076–2152 mg, daily (in courses)
How to reconstitute Cerebrolysin
New to this? Here's the whole process, start to finish. Educational only — not medical advice.
What you'll need
- The Cerebrolysin vial — a small glass vial of white, freeze-dried powder
- Bacteriostatic water — the liquid you mix in (not plain sterile or tap water)
- U-100 insulin syringes — the small syringes marked in units
- Alcohol swabs to wipe the vial tops before you touch them with a needle
- A spot in the fridge to keep it once it's mixed
Step by step
Wipe everything down
Swab the rubber top of both the peptide vial and the bacteriostatic water with an alcohol wipe. Clean tops are what keep the mixed solution good for weeks instead of days.
Draw the water
Use the calculator above to see how much bacteriostatic water to add for your vial size. Pull exactly that amount out of the water vial with a syringe.
Add it slowly
Push the needle into the peptide vial and let the water run gently down the inside glass wall — don't blast it straight onto the powder.
Let it dissolve
Swirl the vial gently or just let it sit. The powder goes into solution on its own in a minute or two. Never shake it hard.
Read your draw
Enter your vial size, the water you added, and your dose in the calculator. It shows the exact units to pull into your syringe — you never do the math yourself.
Store it cold
Cap it and keep it in the fridge. Cerebrolysin stays good for about 1 days once it's mixed.
Reading your dose
The calculator gives you a number like “Draw to 20 units.” Units are just the numbered marks on a U-100 insulin syringe (100 units fill 1 mL). “20 units” means pull the plunger back to the 20 mark. You don't convert milligrams to micrograms in your head — that's the whole point of the calculator. If you're brand new to injecting, learn proper technique and site rotation from a qualified clinician or nurse before your first dose; this page covers the mixing and measuring, not the injection itself.
Storing it
Before mixing: Ready-to-use sterile solution in ampoules (no reconstitution); store ≤25°C, protected from light. Do not freeze Once reconstituted: Once added to an infusion solution, use immediately; do not store (about 1 days). Don't freeze a reconstituted vial.
What “cycling” means
Many peptides are used in “cycles” — a stretch of daily or weekly use (“on”), then a break (“off”), rather than continuously. Cycling gives the body a rest and is a common pattern in the research. Any specific on/off lengths for a compound live in its published protocols above, drawn from the cited studies — this site shows you what the research used, it doesn't recommend a schedule for you.
Common first-timer mistakes
Shaking the vial to mix it
Swirl it gently or just let it sit. Shaking can damage delicate peptides — you want the powder to dissolve, not foam.
Using tap water or plain sterile water
Use bacteriostatic water. Plain sterile water has no preservative, so a mixed vial spoils in a day or two instead of lasting weeks.
Leaving a mixed vial on the counter
Keep reconstituted vials in the fridge. Heat and light break the peptide down faster.
Eyeballing the dose instead of measuring
Use the calculator and draw to the exact unit mark on the syringe. Guessing a tiny volume is where most measuring errors happen.
Reusing needles
Use a fresh syringe each time. A used needle is duller, hurts more, and is no longer sterile.
Mixing up mg and mcg
1 mg = 1000 mcg. The calculator keeps them straight so you don't have to — just enter your dose in the unit it asks for.
Words you'll see
- Reconstitution
- Mixing a freeze-dried peptide powder with liquid (bacteriostatic water) so it can be drawn into a syringe.
- Bacteriostatic water
- Sterile water with a tiny amount of benzyl alcohol that stops bacteria growing, so a mixed vial keeps for weeks. Not the same as plain sterile water.
- U-100 insulin syringe
- A small syringe marked in “units,” where 100 units = 1 mL. Peptide draws are measured in these units.
- Subcutaneous (SubQ)
- An injection into the fatty layer just under the skin, rather than into muscle or a vein.
- mcg vs mg
- 1 mg = 1000 mcg. Doses are often written in micrograms (mcg); the calculator handles the conversion for you.
- Lyophilized
- Freeze-dried. The powder in the vial is the peptide with its water removed so it stays stable on the shelf.
- Half-life
- Roughly how long it takes your body to clear half of a dose — a rough sense of how long it stays active.
Common questions
What is Cerebrolysin?
Neuropeptide preparation of low-molecular-weight peptides and free amino acids that mimics endogenous neurotrophic factors; used for neuroprotection and cognitive/neurorehabilitative support. Ready-to-use ampoules. Standardized mixture of neuropeptides and free amino acids with BDNF-, GDNF-, CNTF-, and NGF-like activity. Crosses the blood-brain barrier and promotes neuroprotection, neuroplasticity, and neurogenesis; in dementia models it reduces beta-amyloid deposition and tau phosphorylation.
How is Cerebrolysin reconstituted?
Cerebrolysin ships as a lyophilised powder and is reconstituted with bacteriostatic water before use, then drawn on an insulin syringe. Use the calculator above to see the exact units to draw for your vial size and dose. This is a reference tool, not medical advice.
What is the half-life of Cerebrolysin?
Research reports an approximate half-life of 4 hours for Cerebrolysin. Half-life informs how frequently a compound is studied; it is not a dosing instruction.
How should Cerebrolysin be stored?
Ready-to-use sterile solution in ampoules (no reconstitution); store ≤25°C, protected from light. Do not freeze Once reconstituted: Once added to an infusion solution, use immediately; do not store (about 1 days). This is general storage information, not medical advice.
Keep your protocol, doses, and vials in one place.
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