Selank Deep Dive: Anxiety, Cognition, Immune System - Mechanisms, Risks, Forms, & Dosing
A physician's long walkthrough of Selank: its Russian approval, proposed mechanisms, claimed anxiety, cognitive, immune and gut effects, safety questions, and speculative dosing and cycling.
Key moments
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- 0:44Russian approval and its limitsStillson explains that Russia approved Selank in 2009 and made it over the counter in 2017. He says the supporting human studies are small, unblinded and weakly controlled.
- 3:00Tuftsin origins and immune effectsHe describes Selank as tuftsin plus three amino acids and explains tuftsin's immune actions. He says preclinical and a few Russian human studies hint at immune modulation.
- 7:19How Selank may reduce anxietyStillson walks through GABA A, NMDA, immune, enkephalin and monoamine mechanisms. He calls the GABA effect the probable main one.
- 13:14Comparison with benzodiazepinesHe describes Russian studies comparing Selank with medazepam and phenazepam. He says anxiety relief was comparable, with no reported sedation and effects lasting a week after the last dose.
- 22:07Risks and safety concernsHe lists theoretical risks such as tolerance, long-term neurologic changes, drug interactions and immune dysregulation. He advises close medical monitoring and cycling.
- 26:05Who might benefit: use case tiersAnxiety is his top use case, especially with brain fog, gut or inflammatory issues. Depression, cognition, pain and stroke are second tier, and immune and gut uses third tier.
- 28:25Nasal spray versus injection theoryHe explains why a nasal route might reach the brain better and injections might reach the body better. He notes that the human studies all used the nasal form.
- 33:14Nasal spray dosingStillson cites the Russian label dose of 900 micrograms per day and says he would start there. He says the studies went as high as 2,700 micrograms per day.
- 34:23Injectable dosing, speculativeHe scales preclinical doses to a human equivalent of about 1 mg per day. He says he would start near 100 micrograms and not exceed 1,000 micrograms per day.
- 39:17Cycling on and offHe cites the Russian label's two weeks on followed by one to three weeks off. He suggests two on and one off, possibly progressing to four on and two off.
What the video says
Quinn Stillson, who describes himself as a licensed medical doctor certified in peptide therapy, presents Selank as more than an anti-anxiety peptide. He says it is a synthetic seven amino acid peptide built in Russia by adding three amino acids to tuftsin, a four amino acid immune peptide, and that Russia approved it for anxiety disorders in 2009 and made it over the counter in 2017.
He frames that approval carefully. According to Stillson, the Russian human studies he found never exceeded 70 participants and were mostly unblinded, poorly randomized and often uncontrolled, so they fall far short of what US or EU approval would need. He treats them as useful guidance but not proof, especially on safety.
On mechanisms, he describes a GABA A receptor effect as the likely main driver of the anti-anxiety action, plus a balancing effect on NMDA receptors, immune modulation inherited from tuftsin, support of enkephalins, and variable effects on serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine. He reviews small Russian studies in which intranasal Selank lowered anxiety scores and matched medazepam and phenazepam, with no benzodiazepine-type side effects reported. He also covers weaker evidence for cognition, depression-related states, pain, stroke recovery and gut health, much of it from preclinical studies.
Stillson lists theoretical risks: tolerance or dependence, unknown long-term neurologic effects, interactions with psychiatric drugs, and immune dysregulation. He ranks use cases in tiers, with anxiety first. His practical section favors a compounded nasal spray first, then possibly an injection. He cites 900 micrograms per day intranasally as a starting point, up to 2,700 micrograms per day, and a very speculative injectable range of 100 to 1,000 micrograms per day. He suggests two weeks on and one week off, possibly working up to four weeks on and two weeks off. He stresses repeatedly that the dosing is speculative and should involve a doctor.
On each compound
Selank0:00
Stillson presents Selank as a seven amino acid synthetic peptide derived from tuftsin. He says it is approved in Russia for anxiety and describes anti-anxiety, cognitive, immune and gut effects, while noting the human evidence is small and uncontrolled.
See how your DNA reads SelankWhat this video doesn’t settle
- The human evidence he cites comes from small Russian studies, none above 70 participants, that were mostly unblinded, weakly randomized and often uncontrolled.
- No human data exists for injectable Selank, and his injectable dosing is scaled from preclinical studies and described by him as very speculative.
- Long-term safety, tolerance and dependence were not studied, since the human studies lasted only a few weeks.
Questions this video answers
Is Selank approved as a drug?
Stillson says Russia approved Selank for anxiety disorders in 2009 and made it over the counter in 2017. He says it would not meet US or EU standards because the trials were small and not well blinded or randomized.
How does Selank compare with benzodiazepines according to this video?
Stillson describes Russian studies in which Selank was comparable to medazepam and phenazepam for anxiety. Those studies reported no typical benzodiazepine side effects, and anxiety relief lasted a week after dosing stopped. He cautions that the studies were small and not blinded.
What Selank dose does Quinn Stillson discuss?
For a nasal spray he cites the Russian label dose of 900 micrograms per day, with a ceiling of 2,700 micrograms per day from the Russian studies. For injections he gives a very speculative range starting near 100 micrograms per day and not above 1,000 micrograms per day.
Nasal spray or injection for Selank, according to Stillson?
He reasons that the nasal route may deliver more to the brain and injection more to the body. Because every human study used the nasal form, he would start there and consider injection only if the first cycle brings no benefit.
What risks of Selank does Stillson raise?
He raises theoretical risks of tolerance or dependence, unknown long-term neurologic effects, interactions with psychiatric medications, and immune dysregulation. He says he considers these unlikely but unproven, and he recommends cycling and medical oversight.
Video by Quinn Stillson MD on YouTube, embedded as published. The summary is written by PeptidesDNA from the video; every claim in it is the speaker’s. Not affiliated with or endorsed by the creator. Not medical advice.
