Cerebrolysin: Evidence, Side Effects and Legal Status (2026)

Quick answers

What is it?: A prescription injection made by digesting pig brain protein into a mix of small peptides and free amino acids¹⁶. Austria’s EVER Neuro Pharma makes it for stroke, head injury and dementia³.
Does it work?: Not clearly. The largest randomized stroke trial, with 1,070 patients, missed its main goal⁷. Dementia trials found small gains, but reviewers rated the evidence weak and the gains possibly too small to matter⁴⁵. We found one small trial in healthy people, from 1998⁸.
Is it safe?: Common side effects are dizziness, headache, sweating and nausea⁹. Stroke trials point to more non-fatal serious side effects than placebo¹. Severe allergic reactions have occurred, including one reported death¹⁰.
Is it legal?: It is not approved in the US, and by our reading US pharmacies may not make it³¹¹¹². Nine EU countries, including Austria, approve it². Sport’s banned list does not name it, and its approval likely keeps it allowed¹³¹⁴.
What is in the vials?: Licensed ampoules hold 215.2 mg of pig-brain concentrate per mL³. A 2015 test of one online sample found 638 peptides, mostly from common brain proteins⁶. One seller replaced it with a research-labeled substitute¹⁵. Finnrick, a testing service, lists no results for either¹⁶.

What it is

Cerebrolysin is not a single molecule. It is a solution made by breaking down pig brain proteins with enzymes, which leaves a mixture of low-molecular-weight peptides and free amino acids¹⁶¹⁰. Trial authors describe the peptides as smaller than 10 kDa¹⁷. Each mL of the licensed product contains 215.2 mg of Cerebrolysin concentrate, with sodium hydroxide and water for injection³. A 2015 mass-spectrometry study of one internet-bought sample identified 638 different peptides, mainly pieces of tubulin and actin, which form the internal skeleton of cells, and of myelin basic protein, part of the insulating sheath around nerves. It found no fragments of known nerve growth factors such as BDNF or NGF and suggested that any effects come from as-yet unknown peptides⁶. A 2024 case report, citing earlier studies, says immunoassays have identified fragments of such growth factors¹⁰. The maker calls it a ‘multi-modal neuropeptide drug’ that ‘improves the brain’s ability for self-repair’³. A Cochrane review puts it more cautiously: it is ‘said to have neurotrophic and neuroprotective activity’, meaning it may support and protect nerve cells⁴.

EVER Neuro Pharma GmbH of Unterach, Austria, makes Cerebrolysin and holds its marketing authorizations in the EU²³. Its prescribing information is based on the Austrian summary of product characteristics³. It has been used for decades, especially for stroke and traumatic brain injury¹⁰, and a 1993 paper calls it FPF 1070¹⁸. We could not verify when it was first developed or approved.

Benefits: what the research shows

In stroke, the results are mixed. In CASTA, the largest randomized trial, 1,070 patients in Asia were randomized within 12 hours of a stroke to 30 mL a day into a vein for 10 days or to saline; the main combined outcome at 90 days showed no significant difference⁷. A post hoc look at severe strokes showed a trend favoring Cerebrolysin, which the authors said needs confirming in another trial⁷; the maker sponsored the trial¹⁹. CARS, a maker-funded trial of 208 patients given 30 mL a day for 21 days alongside rehabilitation, reported a large benefit on arm function at 90 days (Mann-Whitney estimator 0.71, where 0.5 means no difference), and its authors called it exploratory¹⁷. The 2023 Cochrane review (7 trials, 1,773 people, including one trial of Cortexin, a similar product made from cattle brain) found probably little or no difference in deaths and a probable increase in non-fatal serious adverse events (risk ratio 2.39)¹. A maker-funded, open-label study in 16 countries, which was not randomized, compared 1,021 treated patients with 748 controls and reported better recovery at 90 days²⁰. A 2021 European Academy of Neurology guideline recommends 30 mL a day for at least 10 days in early rehabilitation after ischemic stroke²¹. In moderate to severe traumatic brain injury, a single-center trial that analyzed 139 patients reported a small-to-medium benefit across 13 combined outcome scales²². For dementia the evidence is weak. Cochrane’s 2019 review of vascular dementia (6 trials, 597 people) found better cognition (standardized mean difference 0.36) and global function, but rated the evidence very low quality, found industry support wherever funding was reported, and said any benefit ‘may be too small to be clinically meaningful’⁴. One multicenter trial in vascular dementia gave 242 patients 20 mL a day in two treatment courses and reported a 10.6-point improvement on the ADAS-cog+ memory and thinking scale, against 4.4 points on placebo²³. In mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease, a 279-patient trial found that 10 mL improved cognition but 30 and 60 mL did not, although all three doses improved global ratings²⁴. A 2021 meta-analysis of 8 dementia trials (793 people) found a possible small benefit on cognition, judged the evidence low to very low certainty, and called the effects ‘probably less than would be considered clinically relevant’⁵. The only trial in healthy people we found gave 48 men infusions for 10 days and mainly measured brain waves, with only a trend on word recall⁸. Seven laboratory studies with Cerebrolysin in their titles were retracted between January 2025 and June 2026, and two of the notices cite figure panels that appear to overlap²⁵²⁶²⁷.

Key human studies

Study	Design	People	Dose and route	Result
Ziganshina et al., Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2023¹PubMed · DOI	Cochrane systematic review of randomized trials started within 48 hours of acute ischemic stroke; 7 trials, one of them testing Cortexin, a similar product made from cattle brain	1,773	Doses and schedules varied between trials	Deaths: probably little or no difference (RR 0.96, 95% CI 0.65 to 1.41; 6 trials, 1,689 people). Non-fatal serious adverse events: probably increased (RR 2.39, 1.10 to 5.23; 3 trials, 1,335 people), more so with 30 mL a day for 10 days (RR 2.87). The maker supported three of the multicenter trials¹.
Heiss et al. (CASTA), Stroke 2012⁷PubMed · DOI · NCT00868283	Double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized trial in Asia, started within 12 hours of an ischemic stroke; sponsored by EVER Neuro Pharma	1,070	30 mL a day by infusion into a vein for 10 days, plus aspirin 100 mg a day	No significant difference on the main combined outcome (modified Rankin Scale, Barthel Index and NIH Stroke Scale at 90 days). In a post hoc analysis of severe strokes (NIHSS above 12), 90-day deaths were 10.5% vs 20.2% on placebo; the authors said this needs confirming⁷.
Muresanu et al. (CARS), Stroke 2016¹⁷PubMed · DOI	Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled multicenter trial during early rehabilitation after ischemic stroke; funded by EVER Neuro Pharma	208	30 mL a day into a vein for 21 days, starting 24 to 72 hours after the stroke, with rehabilitation	Arm function at day 90 (Action Research Arm Test) favored Cerebrolysin (Mann-Whitney estimator 0.71, 95% CI 0.63 to 0.79), as did global status across 12 scales (0.62). Serious adverse events: 3 of 104 (2.9%) vs 7 of 104 (6.7%) on placebo. The authors called it exploratory and asked for a large confirmatory trial¹⁷.
Cui et al., Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2019⁴PubMed · DOI	Cochrane systematic review of randomized trials in vascular dementia; 6 trials	597	Courses of daily infusions into a vein; doses and lengths varied	Cognition improved (SMD 0.36, 95% CI 0.13 to 0.58; 3 trials, 420 people) and global function improved (RR 2.69; 2 trials, 379 people), both on very low-quality evidence, with no difference in adverse effects. The authors said any benefit ‘may be too small to be clinically meaningful’⁴.
Alsulaimani and Quinn, Cereb Circ Cogn Behav 2021⁵PubMed · DOI	Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized trials of animal-derived nootropics in dementia; 8 Cerebrolysin trials analyzed for cognition	793	Doses and schedules varied between trials	Possible small benefit on cognition (SMD -0.16, 95% CI -0.30 to -0.03, in favor of Cerebrolysin, with signs of publication bias) and global function (OR 2.64); no difference in serious adverse events (RR 0.96; 6 trials, 1,014 people). Certainty low to very low; effects ‘probably less than would be considered clinically relevant’⁵.
Funke et al., J Neural Transm Suppl 1998⁸PubMed · DOI	Single-center, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial in healthy men, tested at rest and during hyperventilation (a model of reduced blood flow to the brain)	48	Placebo or 10, 30 or 50 mL by infusion into a vein for 10 days	Brain-wave (EEG) power rose with 10 mL. Short-term memory showed only a trend: word recall dipped on placebo but not on Cerebrolysin. Mild signs of overdose occurred at the highest doses, and the highest dose caused a small but significant drop in blood pressure⁸.

Doses studied

Doses below are what studies used or what a label says. They are not advice, and gray-market products may not contain what their label says.

In human studies

Licensed use, from the maker’s dosing guide for health professionals: stroke 20 to 50 mL a day for 10 to 21 days; brain injury 20 to 50 mL a day for 7 to 30 days; cognitive problems and Alzheimer’s disease 10 to 30 mL a day, 5 days a week for 4 weeks, repeated 2 to 4 times a year³¹. It is given into a vein, by injection or infusion, or up to 5 mL at a time into a muscle³¹. Trials: 30 mL a day into a vein for 10 days in CASTA⁷; 30 mL a day for 21 days in CARS¹⁷; 20 mL a day in two treatment courses in vascular dementia²³; 10, 30 or 60 mL, 5 days a week for 4 weeks and then twice a week for 8 weeks, in Alzheimer’s disease, where 10 mL did best on cognition²⁴. Healthy men received 10, 30 or 50 mL by infusion for 10 days, and mild signs of overdose occurred at the highest doses⁸. We found no trial of the small self-injections described online.

In animal studies

As reported, in rats only. Rats with an embolic stroke: 0.8, 2.5, 5.0 or 7.5 mL/kg a day for 10 days, starting 4 hours after the stroke; 2.5 mL/kg or more improved recovery, and 5 mL/kg reduced the damaged area³³. Rats with sudden or long-term reduced blood flow to the brain: 538 or 1,614 mg/kg a day for 10 days³⁴. These are animal research doses, not human doses, and we do not convert them.

What users report Anecdotal · not validated · not a recommendation

Buyer reviews posted in 2025 on one seller’s page describe 1 to 10 mL at a time, often daily; the seller says it is not able to recommend doses because the product is not FDA-approved¹⁵.

Routes: Infusion into a vein (licensed; the route in the trials cited here)
Injection into a vein of up to 10 mL (licensed)
Injection into a muscle of up to 5 mL (licensed)
Self-injection at home, described in online buyer reviews (no trial of this use found)

Every dose studied for Cerebrolysin, with sources →

Legal status

United States: Cerebrolysin is not approved by FDA for any use. Its maker states that it ‘is not registered with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and is not approved for sale or distribution in the United States’³, and Drugs@FDA lists no product containing it (searched 7 October 2026)²⁸. In a 10 November 2021 warning letter to an Indianapolis clinic, FDA noted that Cerebrolysin, selank, semax and several other substances ‘were not nominated for inclusion on the 503A bulks list’¹¹.
US pharmacies: Section 503A of federal drug law lets pharmacies compound for individual patients only with bulk substances that meet an applicable USP or NF monograph, are components of an FDA-approved drug, or appear on FDA’s 503A bulks list¹¹. Cerebrolysin is not a component of any FDA-approved drug²⁸, and it is in no category of FDA’s interim 503A list updated 14 May 2026 or of the 503B list for outsourcing facilities updated 21 March 2025¹²²⁹. FDA’s 2021 letter said it had not been nominated for the 503A list, so FDA’s interim policy for nominated substances did not cover it¹¹. By our reading, US pharmacies may not compound it.
Other countries: EU: the European Medicines Agency’s database of medicines authorized in the EU (data as of 21 September 2026) lists Cerebrolysin products held by EVER Neuro Pharma GmbH in nine EU countries, for injection into a muscle or a vein: Austria (also as Ambotonin and Cerebrotonin), Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia². The maker’s prescribing information, based on the Austrian summary of product characteristics, gives its uses as cerebrovascular disorders, especially Alzheimer-type dementia, vascular dementia, stroke and head injury (concussion and contusion), says it is only available on prescription, and lists hypersensitivity, epilepsy and severe kidney impairment as contraindications (reasons not to use it)³. Elsewhere: authors of a maker-funded study wrote in 2025 that it is approved in ‘about 60 countries’²⁰, a 2021 review says it is used in ‘over 45 countries including Russia and China’⁵, and a 2024 case report lists approvals in Austria, China, Germany, Russia and South Korea¹⁰. We did not check national registers outside the EU database, which lists no German authorization². Australia: not named in the Poisons Standard in force from 1 October 2026³⁰. UK and Canada: not verified.
Sport: Cerebrolysin is not named on WADA’s (World Anti-Doping Agency) 2026 Prohibited List, in force now, or on the 2027 List, published 21 September 2026 and in force from 1 January 2027¹³¹⁴. Class S0 bans substances not covered elsewhere that have ‘no current approval by any governmental regulatory health authority for human therapeutic use’¹³; Cerebrolysin is approved in nine EU countries², so by our reading S0 does not apply. Class S2.3 bans growth factors and growth factor modulators affecting muscle, tendon or ligament protein synthesis or breakdown, blood vessel growth, energy use, regenerative capacity or fiber type¹³. Whether that could cover a product promoted for brain repair is untested, and WADA has not ruled on it. Method M2.2 bans infusions or injections into a vein of more than 100 mL in 12 hours, except those legitimately received in hospital treatment, surgery or clinical investigations¹³; licensed Cerebrolysin infusions have a total volume of at least 100 mL³¹. WADA’s note on the 2027 List warns that even if a peptide is not named, ‘utmost caution should be taken as it may still be prohibited and may be harmful to health’³². This is our reading, not a WADA ruling.

Cerebrolysin in the legal tracker →

Quality and the gray market

What testing finds

Finnrick, a service that publishes lab results for peptide samples, listed 11,999 tests of 34 products as of 25 September 2026, and none were of Cerebrolysin or cerebroprotein hydrolysate¹⁶. A 2015 study profiled the peptides in one internet-bought Cerebrolysin sample⁶; we found no published test of the purity or sterility of products sold online. One seller describes its ‘Cerebroprotein Hydrolysate’ as about 20% peptides and 80% free amino acids and links to a certificate of analysis it calls third-party tested; we could not verify either claim¹⁵. Even the licensed product needs strict sterile handling: its maker says ‘special precautions to avoid contamination and to guarantee sterility must be taken’ when it is prepared and given³¹.

How it is sold

A 2015 study called Cerebrolysin ‘easily and globally available on the Internet’⁶. Its maker says it is not approved for sale or distribution in the US³. In March 2025, one seller that had offered Cerebrolysin told a customer it had removed the product ‘at the request of the manufacturer’¹⁵. When we checked on 7 October 2026, the same page sold ‘Cerebroprotein Hydrolysate’ in ampoules of 2 to 20 mL, listed its manufacturer only as ‘USA’ and labeled it ‘for research and development use only’¹⁵. It claims 215.2 mg of pig brain peptide concentrate, the licensed drug’s strength per mL³¹⁵. The page carried 379 reviews; buyers describe self-injecting it for focus, brain fog, memory and stroke recovery¹⁵.

Side effects and risks

Possible serious side effects. In acute stroke trials, Cochrane found a probable increase in non-fatal serious adverse events (risk ratio 2.39), larger on the 30 mL-a-day, 10-day schedule¹.
Severe allergic reactions. Life-threatening anaphylaxis has been reported after an infusion, and a Chinese review cited in that report counted 35 cases from 1994 to 2009, one of them fatal¹⁰. The product is made from pig tissue¹.
Reasons not to use it. The prescribing information lists hypersensitivity to its components, epilepsy and severe kidney impairment³.
Common side effects. The maker lists dizziness, headache, sweating and nausea as the most frequently reported⁹.
Unknown products. Online products are unlicensed, their contents and sterility are unverified, and Finnrick lists no test results for them¹⁵¹⁶. Even the licensed drug needs strict sterile handling³¹.
A shaky evidence base. The maker funded or sponsored many key studies, including CASTA, CARS and C-REGS2¹⁷¹⁹²⁰, and seven laboratory studies with Cerebrolysin in their titles were retracted in 2025 and 2026²⁵.
Legal. It is not FDA-approved, its maker says it is not approved for sale in the US, and US pharmacies may not compound it³¹¹¹².
Anti-doping. It is not named on WADA’s Lists, but infusions or injections into a vein of more than 100 mL in 12 hours outside hospital care are banned whatever they contain¹³.

Documented harms

30 Jul 2026As of openFDA’s 30 July 2026 update, FDA’s adverse event database (FAERS) holds 80 reports naming Cerebrolysin, received from 2006 to 2026, most often from Egypt, Romania and Russia; 75 are coded serious and 15 record a death, and in all but one of those deaths it is listed only as a background drug. It is listed as a suspect drug in 9, each time alongside other suspect drugs; 5 of these, from Austria, appear to describe the same man with Lewy body dementia. The two US reports appear to describe one case and list it only as a background drug. Reports are unverified and do not prove the drug caused the event³⁵.
18 Jul 2024An Austrian hospital reported life-threatening anaphylaxis, a severe whole-body allergic reaction, in an 85-year-old man with a recent stroke. About 30 minutes after a 30 mL Cerebrolysin infusion his circulation collapsed; with treatment, his circulation and breathing recovered within 30 minutes, and lab tests confirmed anaphylaxis¹⁰.
18 Jul 2024The same report cites a Chinese literature review that lists 35 anaphylactic reactions to Cerebrolysin from 1994 to 2009, 23 after the first dose and 12 after the second; one patient died of shock¹⁰.

Questions people ask

Is Cerebrolysin FDA approved?

No. Its maker says Cerebrolysin is not registered with FDA or approved for sale in the US, and Drugs@FDA lists no product containing it³²⁸. It is approved in nine EU countries, including Austria².

Is Cerebrolysin a peptide?

Not a single one. It is a mixture of many small peptides and free amino acids made by digesting pig brain protein, with no single sequence¹. A 2015 analysis of one sample found 638 different peptides⁶.

Does Cerebrolysin work for stroke?

The evidence is mixed. The largest randomized trial, with 1,070 patients, found no significant benefit on its main outcome, while a smaller maker-funded trial reported better arm recovery⁷¹⁷. Cochrane’s 2023 review found probably little or no difference in deaths and a probable increase in non-fatal serious adverse events¹.

Does Cerebrolysin help with memory or dementia?

Trials in vascular and Alzheimer’s dementia found small improvements, but reviewers rated the evidence low or very low quality and the effects possibly too small to matter⁴⁵. The one trial in healthy people we found, from 1998, showed only a trend on word recall⁸.

What are the side effects of Cerebrolysin?

The maker lists dizziness, headache, sweating and nausea as the most common⁹. Stroke trials suggest more non-fatal serious adverse events than placebo, and severe allergic reactions have been reported, one of them fatal¹¹⁰.

Is cerebroprotein hydrolysate the same as Cerebrolysin?

Not necessarily. One seller replaced Cerebrolysin with a ‘Cerebroprotein Hydrolysate’ whose manufacturer it gives only as ‘USA’, labeled for research use, and Finnrick, a testing service, lists no results for it¹⁵¹⁶. Cerebrolysin’s maker says biological products cannot be copied 100% and that similar products need their own studies⁹.

Is Cerebrolysin banned in sports?

It is not named on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s 2026 or 2027 lists, and as an approved medicine it is likely allowed, by our reading²¹³¹⁴. Infusions or injections into a vein of more than 100 mL in 12 hours outside hospital care are banned whatever they contain¹³.

What is still unknown

Exactly which countries approve Cerebrolysin today. We verified nine EU countries; maker-funded authors cite about 60 countries, and a 2024 case report lists Germany, which the EU database does not show.
When Cerebrolysin was first developed and first approved.
What share of the product is peptides and what share free amino acids. Published descriptions differ, and one seller’s 20% and 80% figures are unverified.
What gray-market Cerebrolysin and ‘cerebroprotein hydrolysate’ products contain, and whether they are sterile. We found no independent purity or sterility tests as of 7 October 2026.
Why stroke trials showed more non-fatal serious adverse events with Cerebrolysin, and whether this applies to other doses and uses.
Whether Cerebrolysin does anything for memory or focus in healthy people. The only controlled trial we found was small and from 1998.
Whether large trials run independently of the maker would confirm the benefits reported in trials it funded or supported.
How long its components last in the body. We found no human half-life for the mixture.
Whether WADA would treat it under class S2.3 (growth factor modulators) or the 2027 List’s wider S0 wording. WADA has not ruled on it.
Its legal status in the UK and Canada.

Sources

1Cerebrolysin for acute ischaemic stroke Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 11 Oct 2023. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
2Article 57 product data (EMA/518502/2018, Rev.89; data as present in the Article 57 database on 21 September 2026) European Medicines Agency, 21 Sep 2026. ema.europa.eu
3About Cerebrolysin (product page with prescribing information and notice to U.S. visitors) EVER Neuro Pharma GmbH (maker of Cerebrolysin), 25 Jan 2024. cerebrolysin.com
4Cerebrolysin for vascular dementia Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 11 Nov 2019. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
5The efficacy and safety of animal-derived nootropics in cognitive disorders: Systematic review and meta-analysis Cerebral Circulation - Cognition and Behavior, 2021. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
6Peptide profiling of Internet-obtained Cerebrolysin using high performance liquid chromatography - electrospray ionization ion trap and ultra high performance liquid chromatography - ion mobility - quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry Drug Testing and Analysis, Sep 2015. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
7Cerebrolysin in patients with acute ischemic stroke in Asia: results of a double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized trial Stroke, Mar 2012. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
8Dose-dependent effects of Cerebrolysin on EEG and short-term memory of healthy volunteers during control and hyperventilation induced cerebral ischemia Journal of Neural Transmission. Supplementum, 1998. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
9Cerebrolysin FAQs EVER Neuro Pharma GmbH (maker of Cerebrolysin), 13 Jul 2022. cerebrolysin.com
10Life-Threatening Anaphylaxis due to Cerebrolysin® Case Reports in Neurological Medicine, 2024. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
11Warning letter to Advanced Nutriceuticals, LLC dba The Guyer Institute of Molecular Medicine (MARCS-CMS 615908) U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 10 Nov 2021. fda.gov
12Bulk Drug Substances Nominated for Use in Compounding Under Section 503A of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (categories list) U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 14 May 2026. fda.gov
13World Anti-Doping Code International Standard: Prohibited List 2026 World Anti-Doping Agency, 24 Sep 2025. wada-ama.org
14World Anti-Doping Code International Standard: Prohibited List 2027 World Anti-Doping Agency, 21 Sep 2026. wada-ama.org
15Cerebroprotein Hydrolysate (product page, which carries the seller’s earlier Cerebrolysin reviews) CosmicNootropic (vendor), 6 Oct 2026. cosmicnootropic.com (seller page, deliberately not linked)
16Finnrick public data summary (llms-full.txt, generated 25 September 2026) Finnrick, 25 Sep 2026. finnrick.com
17Cerebrolysin and Recovery After Stroke (CARS): A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled, Double-Blind, Multicenter Trial Stroke, Jan 2016. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
18[Protective effect of FPF 1070 (cerebrolysin) on delayed neuronal death in the gerbil--detection of hydroxyl radicals with salicylic acid] No To Shinkei, Apr 1993. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
19Cerebrolysin in Patients With Acute Ischemic Stroke in Asia (CASTA), NCT00868283 ClinicalTrials.gov, U.S. National Library of Medicine, accessed 7 Oct 2026. clinicaltrials.gov
20C-REGS2-A multinational, high-quality comparative effectiveness study of Cerebrolysin in moderate acute ischemic stroke International Journal of Stroke, Oct 2025. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
21European Academy of Neurology and European Federation of Neurorehabilitation Societies guideline on pharmacological support in early motor rehabilitation after acute ischaemic stroke European Journal of Neurology, Sep 2021. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
22Efficacy and safety of cerebrolysin in neurorecovery after moderate-severe traumatic brain injury: results from the CAPTAIN II trial Neurological Sciences, May 2020. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
23Cerebrolysin in vascular dementia: improvement of clinical outcome in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled multicenter trial Journal of Stroke and Cerebrovascular Diseases, Jul 2011. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
24A 24-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of three dosages of Cerebrolysin in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease European Journal of Neurology, Jan 2006. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
25PubMed search: retraction notices for papers with Cerebrolysin in the title or abstract (7 notices, January 2025 to June 2026) PubMed, U.S. National Library of Medicine, accessed 7 Oct 2026. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
26Retraction Note: Neuroprotective effects of Cerebrolysin in triple repeat Tau transgenic model of Pick’s disease and fronto-temporal tauopathies BMC Neuroscience, 10 Mar 2025. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
27Retraction Note: Cerebrolysin™ efficacy in a transgenic model of tauopathy: role in regulation of mitochondrial structure BMC Neuroscience, 11 Dec 2025. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
28Drugs@FDA via openFDA: search for active ingredient Cerebrolysin (no matches) U.S. Food and Drug Administration (openFDA), 6 Oct 2026. api.fda.gov · data query
29Bulk Drug Substances Nominated for Use in Compounding Under Section 503B of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (categories list) U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 21 Mar 2025. fda.gov
30Therapeutic Goods (Poisons Standard—October 2026) Instrument 2026 (F2026L01327) Federal Register of Legislation, Australian Government, 28 Sep 2026. legislation.gov.au
31How to use Cerebrolysin: step-by-step guide (for health professionals) EVER Neuro Pharma GmbH (maker of Cerebrolysin), 4 Sep 2024. cerebrolysin.com
32Summary of Major Modifications and Explanatory Notes: 2027 Prohibited List World Anti-Doping Agency, 21 Sep 2026. wada-ama.org
33Cerebrolysin dose-dependently improves neurological outcome in rats after acute stroke: A prospective, randomized, blinded, and placebo-controlled study International Journal of Stroke, Apr 2016. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
34Neuroprotective action of Cortexin, Cerebrolysin and Actovegin in acute or chronic brain ischemia in rats PLoS One, 2021. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
35FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) reports naming Cerebrolysin, retrieved via the openFDA drug/event API (80 reports) U.S. Food and Drug Administration (openFDA), 30 Jul 2026. api.fda.gov · data query

Not medical advice. This page reports what studies and regulators say; it does not recommend using any product. How we grade evidence · Report an error.