Reviewed & approved by Dr. Nova Reyes · Last checked 2026-10-25. ← Back to Evidence Library

Cortexin: what the evidence says

At a glance

What it is: a mix of polypeptides extracted from animal brain cortex, sold in Russia as a nervous-system drug. ^R6 It is usually described as coming from pig (porcine) cortex: UNVERIFIED against the Russian label.

What the evidence says: Russian randomized trials in ischemic stroke and chronic poor brain blood flow report better recovery scores. They are Russian-language, mostly small, and not repeated outside Russia; a small trial found a rival drug (Cellex) worked better. ^{R1, R2, R3, R4}

Biggest risks: in the trials, side-effect rates were described as low and similar between groups. ^{R2, R4} Reporting is limited to abstracts. Unknown

Rating


Human Human evidence	Limited: ischemic stroke and chronic brain ischemia, Russian RCTs ^{R1, R2, R3, R4} · Nootropic use in healthy people: No human data
Animal Animal / lab evidence	Not rated here
Regulatory	Not FDA-approved (no Drugs@FDA record) · Russia: reported as registered in GRLS UNVERIFIED · WADA 2026: not named; S0 depends on Russian registration status UNVERIFIED
Established human dose	None outside Russia. Study details lists what trials used

Evidence verdict: Human: Limited (ischemic stroke); nootropic use: No human data Card verdict: Limited (ischemic stroke) · Nootropic use: No human data Card note: Varies by use, see page

This page reports what studies used. It is not dosing advice.

Legend: HUMAN data · ANIMAL / LAB data · UNKNOWN · UNVERIFIED: not yet confirmed against a primary source

About the evidence: nearly all Cortexin trials are Russian-language and published in one Russian neurology journal. Abstracts rarely state who funded the trial. UNVERIFIED whether the manufacturer sponsored them.

What is it?

Cortexin is an animal-brain peptide extract, similar in concept to Cerebrolysin. ^R6 A Cochrane review covers Cerebrolysin in stroke, not Cortexin, so its conclusions do not carry over. ^R8

Does it work?

Human Acute ischemic stroke, placebo-controlled: a 62-patient double-blind trial reported better recovery scores than placebo. ^R1 A 272-patient double-blind, placebo-controlled trial reported the best results with two courses. ^R2 Full numbers are not in the abstracts.
Human IV vs intramuscular: a 490-patient double-blind trial found the two forms performed similarly (93.6% vs 86.5% with little or no disability at 90 days). There was no placebo group, so this does not show Cortexin works. ^R3
Human Chronic brain ischemia: a 189-patient randomized trial reported larger benefits at the higher amount on symptoms, fatigue and sleep; effects on mood were small. ^R4
Human Head-to-head: in 40 stroke patients, Cellex did better than Cortexin on stroke and memory scores. ^R5
Human Other uses: Russian trials also report benefits in children's neurological conditions and in neurological complications of type 2 diabetes (110 patients, unblinded comparison). ^R7
Unknown Nootropic or "brain boost" use in healthy people: no trials found.

Is it safe?

Human In the 490-patient trial, 74 adverse events in 60 patients (IV group) vs 51 in 41 (IM group), no significant difference. ^R3
Human Smaller trials describe it as well tolerated. ^{R1, R2}
Unknown As an animal-brain extract, allergy and contamination are theoretical concerns.

Gray-market "research use only" Cortexin: extra risks

Unknown contents. Vials sold online as "research use only" are not made under drug-quality rules, so identity, strength and sterility are unknown. This is a general caution; we have not found independent testing data for this product. Unknown Vendor claims about effects in people are marketing, not evidence. Unknown

What we don't know

Unknown Whether results repeat in trials outside Russia or in English-language peer review
Unknown Who funded the trials
Unknown Anything about use in healthy people

Is it legal?

Not FDA-approved (no Drugs@FDA record, openFDA query Oct 25, 2026). Russia: reported as a registered medicine in the State Register of Medicines (GRLS) UNVERIFIED, not checked against grls.rosminzdrav.ru. EU, UK, Japan, China: UNVERIFIED not checked against EMA, MHRA, PMDA or NMPA. WADA: not named on the 2026 Prohibited List; S0 bans substances with no current governmental health-authority approval, which depends on Russian registration status UNVERIFIED.

Study details

These are amounts researchers used, not recommendations.

R1 Human Human: acute ischemic stroke vs placebo (Skoromets 2008)

Study	People / model	Route	Amount used	Follow-up	Reported	Side effects / limitations	Citation
Skoromets 2008	62 hemispheric ischemic stroke	Intramuscular	20 mg/day for 10 days, started within 6 h	28 days	Better NIHSS, Rankin, Barthel vs placebo	Small; numbers not in abstract	PMID 19431244

R2 Human Human: acute ischemic stroke, low amount (Aliferova 2014)

Study	People / model	Route	Amount used	Follow-up	Reported	Side effects / limitations	Citation
Aliferova 2014	272 ischemic stroke	Intramuscular	10 mg three times a day; 2 courses, 1 course + placebo, or placebo	70 days	Best with two 10-day courses	Numbers not in abstract	PMID 24874316

R3 Human Human: IV vs IM equivalence (Fedin 2025)

Study	People / model	Route	Amount used	Follow-up	Reported	Side effects / limitations	Citation
Fedin 2025	490 acute ischemic stroke	IV vs IM (double-dummy)	10 mg twice a day for 10 days, then IM 10 mg twice a day for 10 days	90 days	mRS 0–2: 93.6% vs 86.5%	No placebo arm; AEs 74/60 pts vs 51/41 pts	PMID 41524350

R4 Human Human: chronic cerebral ischemia (Fedin 2018)

Study	People / model	Route	Amount used	Follow-up	Reported	Side effects / limitations	Citation
Fedin 2018	189 chronic brain ischemia	Intramuscular	20 mg vs 10 mg vs basic treatment, 10 days, repeated at 6 months	~6+ months	Dose-dependent benefit on symptoms, asthenia, sleep	Blinding not stated	PMID 30335070

R5 Human Human: Cellex vs Cortexin (Khabirov 2020)

Study	People / model	Route	Amount used	Follow-up	Reported	Side effects / limitations	Citation
Khabirov 2020	40 early stroke recovery	IM (Cortexin)	10 mg/day for 10 days	Not in abstract	Cellex better on NIHSS and MMSE	Small, active comparator	PMID 33449527

R6 Review: mechanisms (Gomazkov 2015)

PMID 26356623

R7 Human Human: type 2 diabetes neurological complications (DIACORT 2026)

Study	People / model	Route	Amount used	Follow-up	Reported	Side effects / limitations	Citation
DIACORT 2026	110 T2D with neuro complications	IM	10 mg, ten injections, added to glycine + B vitamins	90 days	Better MoCA, HADS, neuropathy scores vs control	Blinding not stated; 5 AEs total	PMID 42133422

R8 Cochrane review of Cerebrolysin (not Cortexin) in stroke (2023)

PMID 37818733

Full reference list (PubMed entries checked Oct 25, 2026)

Skoromets AA, et al. Zh Nevrol Psikhiatr Im S S Korsakova. 2008;Suppl 22:32-8. PMID 19431244
Aliferova VM, et al. Zh Nevrol Psikhiatr Im S S Korsakova. 2014;114(4):41-6. PMID 24874316
Fedin AI, et al. Zh Nevrol Psikhiatr Im S S Korsakova. 2025;125(12):60-7. PMID 41524350
Fedin AI, et al. Zh Nevrol Psikhiatr Im S S Korsakova. 2018;118(9):35-42. PMID 30335070
Khabirov FA, et al. Zh Nevrol Psikhiatr Im S S Korsakova. 2020;120(12 Vyp 2):11-5. PMID 33449527
Gomazkov OA. Zh Nevrol Psikhiatr Im S S Korsakova. 2015. Cortexin: molecular mechanisms and targets of neuroprotective activity. PMID 26356623
[No authors listed]. Zh Nevrol Psikhiatr Im S S Korsakova. 2026;126(4):101-12 (DIACORT). PMID 42133422
Ziganshina LE, et al. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2023. Cerebrolysin for acute ischaemic stroke. PMID 37818733

Disclaimer

This page is for education and harm reduction, not medical advice or a recommendation to use Cortexin. Talk to a clinician you trust before using any drug, and report problems to FDA MedWatch (https://www.fda.gov/safety/medwatch).

Approved for Adam Greene by Dr. Nova Reyes, 2026-10-25.