Cerebrolysin vs Selank
It is an injection promoted for stroke recovery, memory and brain injury. Trials point both ways, and the biggest review found no fewer deaths and more serious side effects. It is sold as a nose spray to calm anxiety and sharpen focus. The only trial, in Russia, had 62 patients and no placebo group, so it proves little.
Both sit at grade B: some human evidence. Neither is FDA approved.
Evidence
BSome human evidence
BSome human evidence
Human studies cited
Animal or cell studies cited
Why the grade
For the stroke-recovery use there are randomized placebo-controlled trials, but they point in different directions. A Cochrane review pooled six RCTs with 1,501 participants and found no reduction in deaths and more non-fatal serious adverse events; the CARS trial (208 patients) and the two CAPTAIN trials in brain injury (185 patients pooled) reported modest functional benefits. Several trials were manufacturer-supported and had high risk of bias, so the grade stops at B.
There is one small controlled comparison in 62 patients with generalized anxiety disorder or neurasthenia, published in Russian without a placebo arm, plus a cytokine study in a subset of patients and two animal or in vitro studies on GABA and NMDA receptor binding. One controlled human trial meets the letter of B, but it is tiny, the abstract reports neither randomization nor blinding, and it has never been replicated outside Russia.
FDA
Not approved
Cerebrolysin is not approved by the FDA for any use. It is a licensed medicine in more than 50 other countries, mainly in Eastern Europe, Russia and Asia, for stroke, dementia and brain injury.
Not approved
Selank is not approved by the FDA for any use and is sold in the United States as a research chemical. It is registered as a prescription anxiolytic in Russia. It is not on the FDA's list of substances pharmacies may compound, and it was not among the peptides the FDA's compounding advisory committee reviewed in July 2026.
Sold for
Cerebrolysin is promoted in nootropic and longevity circles as a brain-repair injection that speeds stroke recovery, sharpens cognition and treats dementia.
Selank is sold as a nasal spray that calms anxiety without the sedation or dependence of benzodiazepines and sharpens focus at the same time.
Studies say
Randomized trials exist, which earns a B, but the largest independent synthesis found no effect on death or dependence after stroke and a rise in serious adverse events, while smaller manufacturer-backed trials found small functional gains.
A single 62-patient Russian trial found anxiety relief comparable to a benzodiazepine, and animal work points to GABA and NMDA receptor effects, but there is no placebo-controlled human trial, so the claims rest on thin evidence.
Class
Neuropeptide preparation (porcine brain)
Anxiolytic peptide (Russian)
Route
Intravenous
Nasal