What is peptide therapy?
Peptides are small molecules that are made up of a series of amino acids, like proteins but in smaller form. One widely recognized peptide that revolutionized healthcare and has allowed multitudes of people to live longer, healthier lives is insulin. Another one that has recently become a household name is Semaglutide (trade name Ozempic or Wegovy) which is highly effective as a weight loss therapy, particularly in patients with diabetes. These peptides are naturally occurring in the body, and stimulate the cells in the body to perform specific actions like signaling your brain to release additional luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) which in turn signal the testes to produce more testosterone naturally without having to administer testosterone directly to oneself. This has the benefit of maintaining the body’s natural processes while optimizing the hormones needed to feel better, healthier, and more vigorous. This kind of testosterone-boosting therapy also has the benefit of not shutting down your brain’s normal signaling to the testes to produce testosterone and sperm, meaning that it is a great option for testosterone replacement patients who still desire fertility. It can also prevent testicular shrinkage and be utilized as a part of a protocol for coming off of testosterone replacement therapy that has required direct administration of testosterone in the body.
What else can peptide therapy be used for?
Other examples are peptides that naturally stimulate your body through a cell signaling process to produce more growth hormone. We have also developed peptides to help slow the aging process, reduce wrinkles and other skin imperfections related to aging like sagging skin or sun spots, improve or restore hair growth and optimize the results after hair transplants. We have also isolated peptides for therapy to improve wound healing, treat burns and scars (including stretch marks), improve gut health, improve or maintain cognitive processing and prevent cognitive decline. For obvious reasons, peptide therapy is revolutionizing the way we age and recover from injury and disease.
Dr. Whelan has specific training in peptide therapy, and at The Testosterone Replacement Clinic, we work with pharmacies that are endorsed by the International Peptide Society to make sure that we can provide you with the highest quality medication that is certified pure and made in the USA. These therapies have many uses, and although they were classically injected under the skin, we now have many forms that can be applied topically or orally for treatment.
