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Thymalin protocol

Thymalin is a peptide mixture made from calf thymus. It is registered as a medicine in Russia, according to the authors of a 2021 trial. Human evidence comes mainly from small Russian studies, including one in older adults with severe COVID-19.

Registered medicine in Russia (number LS-000267, 2010), per the trial authorsNot approved as a medicine by the US FDAEvidence is small, mostly from one research group
ProtocolMixingResultsSide effectsHow it worksSources

The protocol at a glance

In the COVID-19 trial, 10 mg of thymalin was injected into the muscle once a day for 10 days, on top of standard care.

TrialAmount and schedule
Severe COVID-19, older adults (80 people)10 mg in 2 mL of saline, injected into muscle, once a day for 10 days

Kuznik B et al. Adv Gerontol 2021 (registered in Russia as LS-000267). Randomised, single-blind, one hospital (Chita, Russia). The control group got standard care plus a saline injection.

Community reports

We note the published schedule of 10 mg into the muscle daily for 10 days. This came from the COVID-19 trial.

What people say they do, collected from community discussions. Not tested in a trial; shown so you can compare it with the evidence above.

Mixing calculator

Enter the vial size, the water you add and the amount you want to draw; it gives the mark on a 100-unit (1 mL) insulin syringe.

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What the trials found

Single-centre trial, 80 older adults with severe COVID-19: 36 got thymalin, 44 got placebo. What was measured: deaths in hospital and clinical improvement.

19.4%died in hospital with thymalin (7 of 36)
40.9%died in hospital with placebo (18 of 44)
80.5%showed clinical improvement with thymalin
59%showed clinical improvement with placebo

Kuznik B et al. Adv Gerontol 2021;11(4):368-376 (PMC8654498). Mortality and improvement differences both had p = 0.039. One author, V. Khavinson, is a long-time developer of thymalin research.

Side effects

  • The authors state thymalin has no side effects in older adults, but the trial paper gives little safety detail.
  • Long-term safety outside Russian studies is not established.

How it works

Short peptides that act on genes

The authors link thymalin's effect to short peptides in it (KE, EW and EDP) that can bind DNA and histones and change which genes are active.

Sources

  • Kuznik B et al. Adv Gerontol 2021 (Peptide drug thymalin, severe COVID-19), PMC8654498
  • Khavinson VKh et al. Neuro Endocrinol Lett 2003 (266 older adults, 6-8 years), PMID 14523363
  • Drugs@FDA / openFDA search: no thymalin product