Peptide Therapy

What is a peptide? A peptide is simply a string of amino acids. If you have up to 50 amino acids strung together (or 100, depending upon who you ask), it is called a peptide. Over 50 (or 100) amino acids strung together is called a protein.  Peptides regulate a wide range of biological processes and functions. They function as signaling molecules in the body. They tell other cells and molecules how they should perform. Insulin, a  hormone that we have used therapeutically for years, is actually a peptide!

There are more than 7,000 known peptides in the human body, and while some might be almost identical, each is responsible for creating a distinct action and/or reaction within the body. A few of the most well-known functions of peptides are alleviating pain, influencing the genes that affect aging, helping to repair soft tissue and speeding up healing processes, aiding weight loss (or gain, depending on the peptide), muscle growth, helping with sexual dysfunction, and increasing hormone production.

The Carragher Method for Peptide Therapy

The Carragher Method is the premier method for age management and hormone optimization and includes therapeutic peptides as a part of many treatment plans. While the body naturally produces peptides, the number of peptides produced can differ greatly from person to person, and with age, the amount of certain peptides found in the body decreases.

The Carragher Method uses targeted peptide therapies to address specific symptoms and overall aging in the body. Peptides are generally injected with a tiny needle just under the skin (subcutaneous injection) and are easy enough to administer to yourself.  Some peptides are available as nasal sprays, topical creams, or oral capsules.

Potential Benefits of The Carragher Method Peptide Therapies:

1. Improved energy and decreased fatigue
2. Weight loss – or more specifically, body fat loss
3. Enhanced immune function
4. Wound healing and improved surgical recovery
5. Ligament and tendon repair
6. Better body composition
7. Improved sleep quality and duration
8. Enhanced sexual performance
9. Stronger bone strength and increased bone density.
10. Cellular and DNA repair 

Most Popular Peptides

Here are some of the most commonly used therapeutic peptides: 

• BPC-157
  

  BPC-157 is a peptide with multiple beneficial functions.  It has been shown to accelerate wound healing and helps to repair tendon-to-bone and ligament damage.  It is used just before and immediately after surgeries of almost any kind to improve the healing process and quicken healing time.  It also helps repair gastrointestinal tissue from problems such as ulcers, irritable bowel syndrome, and inflammatory bowel disease.  It protects the lining of your gastrointestinal tract. It helps regulate your body’s serotonin and dopamine systems and protects and regenerates nerve cells. It has also been shown to help cure periodontal disease.

• Thymosin Beta-4 (TB-4)  and TB-500
  

  These peptides play an important role in protection, regeneration, and remodeling of injured or damaged tissues.  They are used for treatment of acute injury, for surgical wound healing, and for chronic damage to tissues from overuse in athletics and other overuse injuries.  They help prevent scar tissue formation.  If you are having surgery we recommend taking either of these as part of your post-surgical healing protocol.

• Thymosin Alpha-1 (TA-1) and Thymulin
  

  Thymosin Alpha-1 and Thymulin are components of a peptide called Thymosin Fraction 5 found in your thymus gland.  The thymus gland is found in the lower part of your neck, especially while you are young, and is responsible for regulating your immune system.
  TA-1 and Thymulin are used to boost your immune health and improve general wellness by preventing infections such as the common cold or flu. They down-regulate the release of inflammatory mediators and up-regulate anti-inflammatory factors.  These peptides also help your immune system fight the most common diseases of aging, such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s Disease.

• PT-141

  PT-141 works with the central nervous system and the sexual center of the brain. More specifically, PT-141 activates neurons in your hypothalamus, a gland in your brain that regulates your hormonal systems. PT-141 stimulates your hypothalamus to tell your pituitary gland to release the sex hormones associated with sexual arousal. In other words, the peptide PT-141 treats sexual dysfunction by stimulating the sexual center of the brain to cause desire and increase your sex drive. By comparison, drugs like Viagra (sildenafil) and Cialis (tadalafil) simply dilate the blood vessels in the penis to cause an erection. They do not cause desire.  This makes PT-141 a great alternative to Viagra or Cialis for men whose sexual dysfunction goes beyond erectile dysfunction, or for men who cannot take vasodilators, which Viagra and Cialis are.

The Bottom Line 

Peptide therapies aid in addressing many symptoms and diseases in a targeted way in order to achieve a desired response. Whether it’s immune system modulation, cellular and DNA repair, wound healing, tendon and ligament repair, sleep, or sexual problems, there are specific peptides to address each.  This makes peptide therapies an increasingly popular way of addressing medical problems and for this reason, there are hundreds of peptides in various stages of research for future therapies. 

Contact us if you are looking to learn more about peptide therapy or which age management therapy is right for you!