Cortexin

1 · Identity

Identity

sequence-only / literature

Aliases

Cortexinum (EN); Cortex polypeptide fraction (EN); Кортексин (RU_LATIN)

Polypeptide fraction from pig/cow cerebral cortex (Morozov extraction protocol). Composition per Russian Pharmacopoeia: low-MW peptides including L-glutamic acid, L-aspartic acid, glycine + vitamins (tocopherol, thiamine, riboflavin, retinol) + microelements (Zn, Mn, Se, Cu, Mg). The "drug cortexin" is cortexin peptides + glycine, and the combination HYPERPOLARISES neurons (in contrast to peptides alone, which mildly activate). Multi-faceted mechanism: (a) metabolic — restoration of cortical neuron function after ischemia; (b) neuroprotective — reduces neurological deficit in chronic ischemia; (c) nootropic — stimulates CNS compensatory capacity in healthy subjects under stress; (d) anticonvulsant. Wistar rat bilateral carotid occlusion model: cortexin 1 mg/kg i.p. ×7d post-occlusion reduces neurological deficit (McGrow stroke index), reduces malonic dialdehyde, increases superoxide dismutase. Effect is most pronounced with delayed ischemic preconditioning. Clinical translation includes acute stroke, chronic cerebral ischemia, epilepsy, glaucoma (parabulbar injections 10 mg ×10 courses — stabilised glaucoma in 52% of patients at 1.5 years follow-up).

How it works

Key findings (5)

1. Wistar rats divided by hypoxic resistance (HR vs LR), bilateral carotid occlusion model: cortexin 1 mg/kg i.p. ×7d, effect maximal in delayed preconditioning group; reduces MDA, increases SOD (Zarubina-Buznik-Shabanov 2015)
2. Planorbarius corneus mollusk neurons: cortexin peptides + glycine HYPERPOLARISE (reduced impulse frequency); peptides alone mildly activate; glycine alone mildly activates — the combination is the registered drug (Shabanov-Vislohkov 2013)
3. 42 patients (62 eyes) primary open-angle glaucoma, cortexin 10 mg parabulbar ×10: visual function improved, electrophysiology and hemodynamics improved, positive effect sustained 1.5y, glaucoma stabilisation in 52% (Shtilerman-Mikhalsky-Lysyak 2010)
4. Diakonov-Shabanov 2015 review: 10-15 years of cortexin + retinalamin in neurology, therapy, ophthalmology — low-dose neuroprotection effective in acute cerebrovascular accidents and chronic cerebral ischemia
5. Skoromets-Diakonov 2010: cortexin used for restoration of brain function in disease AND for modulation/stimulation of compensatory CNS capacity in healthy subjects under stress — no age limit

Evidence quality

Strong — this is the most-cited Russian neuroprotective peptide. Multiple clinical case series (glaucoma n=42 eyes) and controlled animal experiments. Limitation: no international RCT. The composition is multi-component (peptides + glycine + vitamins + microelements) so the active principle attribution is not straightforward.

Open questions (4)

1. Which peptide in the fraction is active? Multiple peptide species present.
2. The glycine co-formulation matters — peptides alone behave differently from the combination
3. Stroke trials in Russian clinical practice — have any been meta-analysed by independent groups?
4. Does cortexin work in acute ischemic stroke in humans? Most data are chronic ischemia or post-stroke recovery

3 · Summary

Design distribution

4 · Possible mechanisms — candidate list

5 · Pathways — questions the corpus does not yet answer

6 · Bibliography — Russian primary sources

• i-p-pavlov-mozg-i-korteksin
• neyronoprotektornoe-deystvie-korteksina-i-kortagena
• neyroprotektornye-effekty-korteksina-i-ishemicheskoe-prekonditsionirovanie
• korteksin-v-lechenii-epilepsii
• primenenie-korteksina-pri-glaukome
• korteksin-v-lechenii-nestabilizirovannoy-glaukomy
• influence-of-cortexin-on-the-level-of-neurotrophic-protein-s100-in-chronic-cerebral-ischemia

Inventor (detail): V.Kh. Khavinson lab + Kirov Academy neurology (Skoromets et al.). Production technology developed under Morozov's extraction protocol, applied to pig/calf cerebral cortex.

First publication: mid-1980s (Kirov Academy). Earliest indexed CyberLeninka reference: Skoromets A.A., D'yakonov M.M. *И.П. Павлов, мозг… и кортексин* (2010), which is itself a historical/pedagogical paper. Industrial production by Geropharm (St. Petersburg).

Peptide kind: **Polypeptide fraction** from pig/calf cerebral cortex (1–10 kDa). Reconstituted with glycine as stabilizer (the glycin–polypeptide blend is the "Cortexin®" formulation). Active short peptide component: **KE (Vilon)** plus several cortex-derived sequences including the synthetic tetrapeptide **AC-3

7 · Bibliography — PubMed corpus

8 · Corroboration

Corpus source

PubMed (eutils) and OpenAlex, swept against this compound by PMID. Last verified 26.08.2026.

Identity source

PubChem CID — verified live. InChIKey —. Live fetch on 26.08.2026.

Provenance

St. Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology (1999) Khavinson VKh — Cortex-derived peptide complex; nootropic and neuroprotective

9 · Open questions

1. 8 B-grade paper(s) — verify COI flag and replicate independently before treating as decision-grade.
2. Most of the published evidence for this compound is from the group that developed it. Where independent replication exists, we flag it in the mechanism block above; where it doesn't, treat mechanism claims as developer-side.