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MK-677 in older adults, the RCT data vs what people claim it does

Posted by fasted_scientist in GH & Growth Peptides - 4 points, 5 comments.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2757071

This is the full text of the Nass et al. Randomised controlled trial where they gave MK-677 to healthy older adults for roughly a year and tracked body composition, IGF-1, and functional outcomes. It is one of the better-quality studies on MK-677 in humans, published in a proper journal, not a blog write-up.

The thing that always gets glossed over in forum chatter is that this trial did not show meaningful functional improvement. IGF-1 went up, appetite went up (67% of subjects vs 36% on placebo), but the functional measures like gait speed and stair climb did not really move. People online talk about MK-677 like it is basically oral GH, but the data here suggest the body composition changes were modest and the real-world performance gains were basically absent. The appetite effect settling back to normal in half the subjects within 3 months is also something nobody mentions when they say it makes you ravenous forever.

Has anyone here actually tracked their IGF-1 on MK-677 and compared it to what they got from injected secretagogues? Reckon the gap is bigger than people want to admit.

Comments

  • sleep_coastal: Anecdotally I ran MK-677 for about four months and got IGF-1 checked before and after. It moved maybe 40-50 ng/mL. Not nothing but honestly underwhelming compared to what I saw later with a CJC-1295/ipamorelin combo, which pushed it higher and felt noticeably different in sleep and recovery. The MK-677 appetite hit was real for about six weeks then faded, exactly like that trial showed. The functional stuff is the part nobody wants to hear. Numbers on paper going up does not mean you feel or pe
  • student748: For what it is worth i tried mk-677 for three months and saw a similar small igf-1 bump, hunger spiked then tapered, but my run times and recovery felt unchanged. Yeah nah not impressed.
  • fasted_scientist: Cheers for sharing that, matches the trial data pretty spot on actually. The hunger tapering after a few months is exactly what Nass saw in about half the subjects. Did you get bloods for the IGF-1 or was that just a feeling? Reckon that is the bit most people skip, they feel hungrier and assume the compound is "working" when the functional side just is not there.
  • fasted_scientist: Spot on about the IGF-1 numbers. Ng/mL moving a bit doesn't mean your muscles are actually growing, ngl. I reckon that's why people get so gutted when they don't see a massive change in the mirror despite the bloodwork. I had a similar feeling with my own trial of it. I'm curious though, did you notice any water retention when you switched to the CJC/Ipo combo or was it just the sleep and recovery that felt different?
  • sleep_coastal: Thanks. I ran IGF-1 after 3 months on MK-677 and it was up ~30% but my walking speed and stair times felt the same. Anecdotally, the hunger faded around month 4 while the number stayed high. Blood work is the only way to separate feeling from real change.

Community discussion - research and educational context only. Not medical advice.