# CJC-1295: A Reviewed Reading of the Research Literature > CJC-1295 raised growth hormone and IGF-1 for days in healthy adults at an estimated 5.8-8.1 day half-life. A sequenced review of the published CJC-1295 record, every figure cited. A long-acting GHRH analog that raised growth hormone and IGF-1 for days in healthy adults. Read in the order the evidence accrued, with every quantitative claim cited to its study. ## A Review of the CJC-1295 Research Literature CJC-1295 raised mean plasma growth hormone 2- to 10-fold for six days or more and IGF-1 1.5- to 3-fold for nine to eleven days in healthy adults, after a single subcutaneous dose, with an estimated half-life of 5.8 to 8.1 days [1]. That one sentence is the reason CJC-1295 is studied at all, and the reason it is on the WADA Prohibited List. This site reads the record that produced that sentence — in sequence, the way the evidence actually accrued. CJC-1295 is a synthetic long-acting analog of growth-hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH), built on the first 29 residues of human GH-releasing factor, hGRF(1-29), and carrying four amino-acid substitutions that block the enzymes that would otherwise clear it within minutes [2]. The long-acting **DAC** variant adds one more thing: a chemical handle that covalently binds the peptide to serum albumin already circulating in the blood, dragging its half-life toward that of albumin itself [2]. The short-acting form — **Modified GRF 1-29**, the no-DAC version — keeps the four substitutions but drops the albumin handle, so it clears in minutes to hours. Keeping those two variants distinct is the single most useful thing a CJC-1295 review can do, because marketing and forums conflate them constantly. We give the distinction [its own page](/dac-vs-no-dac). The evidence is a chronology. The 2005 rat study identified CJC-1295 as the lead albumin-bioconjugate and measured a four-fold increase in GH exposure over the unconjugated peptide [2]. The 2006 human studies pinned the multi-day half-life and, importantly, showed that the natural pulsing rhythm of GH survives continuous stimulation [1][3]. A 2009 study mapped the serum-protein changes the compound leaves behind [5]. In 2010, analysts identified CJC-1295 by mass spectrometry inside a black-market vial [6] — the moment the research compound became an anti-doping target. From there the story is a detection arms race, surveyed most recently by a 2025 Nature Reviews Endocrinology review of the whole GHRH-analog class [11]. CJC-1295 is not approved for human use by the FDA or any major regulator, and it is prohibited at all times in tested sport [4]. This is a digest of what the published studies measured — not medical guidance, and not a place to obtain anything. The findings are organized across [the published research](/research), the DAC and no-DAC pharmacokinetics, the [CJC-1295 side effects](/side-effects) literature, and a [full reference list](/references). ## What is CJC-1295? CJC-1295 is a synthetic long-acting analog of growth-hormone-releasing hormone, built on hGRF(1-29) with four protease-resistant substitutions; the DAC variant adds covalent serum-albumin conjugation for a multi-day half-life, while the no-DAC form is short-acting [2]. It is an unapproved research chemical, handled by suppliers for laboratory use only. Mechanistically it does one thing. It binds the GHRH receptor on the pituitary's growth-hormone cells, triggers the Gs/cAMP/PKA signaling cascade those cells use, and prompts them to synthesize and release growth hormone in pulses; the liver responds to that GH by producing IGF-1 [2]. The four substitutions — D-Ala at position 2, plus changes at 8, 15 and 27 — exist to stop dipeptidylpeptidase-IV and oxidation from destroying the molecule before it reaches the receptor [2]. ## What does CJC-1295 do? It binds the GHRH receptor on pituitary somatotrophs and stimulates pulsatile growth-hormone release, which raises hepatic IGF-1. In healthy adults, single 30-60 ug/kg doses produced dose-dependent multi-fold GH increases and 1.5- to 3-fold IGF-1 increases lasting days [1]. What it does not do is flatten the body's own GH rhythm. A single 60 or 90 ug/kg dose in healthy young men raised basal GH roughly 7.5-fold and left the frequency and size of natural GH pulses unchanged a week later [3]. That preserved pulsatility is the finding that distinguished CJC-1295 from a constant GH infusion and is why the GHRH-analog approach drew interest in the first place. The measured effects, the comparator analogs, and the open questions are all covered in [the published research](/research). ## Reading the record honestly The human evidence base is small and short. The studies that matter most are early Phase I pharmacokinetic trials in healthy volunteers; they established how GH and IGF-1 move after a dose, not whether long-term use is safe or does anything a person would notice [12]. A ConjuChem Phase 2 trial of the DAC compound in HIV-associated visceral obesity (NCT00267527) was discontinued, and the long-acting program did not advance [12]. So this review holds two things at once. The pharmacokinetics are real, replicated, and quantified — we lead with them. The long-term safety and efficacy data in healthy adults do not exist — we mark that gap as plainly as we mark the numbers, on the [CJC-1295 side effects](/side-effects) page and throughout. The [frequently asked questions](/faq) page answers the most common specific questions directly. --- A scroll-told review of the CJC-1295 literature, read top to bottom in the order the evidence accrued — the DAC and no-DAC tracks kept apart, every figure logged to its study and the human gaps left visibly open; no clinic behind the rail and nothing here dispensed or for sale.