Peptides

Skin Health

Revitalize Skin & Hair With GHK-Cu Peptides

Peptide Summit 2024

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yFnZutM8Q-DeSCHBj5u2f6PHvj1Arm8B/view?usp=drive_link

It helps stimulate them. In studies, it's shown that GHK increases or decreases gene expression by more than 50% in 32.1% of human genes.  It's going in there and turning on and off gene expression, which is cool. It also helps suppress interleukin-6 secretion in skin fibroblasts and interleukin-6 gene expression in sebocytes. What are the benefits for the skin? It helps tighten the skin and reverse the thinning, aging skin, which we all have seen. Working in the emergency room, we've seen the elderly come in with those skin tears. If you have a nice copper peptide cream, you can help repair that and tighten that loose skin so you’re not having those skin tears. It also repairs protective skin barrier proteins, which is important because what happens with the skin is that if we have aging skin or even skin exposed to certain elements, we lose that protective layer. Not only does it protect our skin and make it look good, but it also helps protect against the loss of moisture. Our skin looks less thirsty and dry. It helps reduce fine lines, the depth of wrinkles, and the structure of aging skin, smooths that rough skin that you can get and helps reduce photodamage, which means sun damage, mottled hyperpigmentation, skin spots, and skin lesions. It also protects the skin from UV radiation. Simulates wound healing. I've seen this in a lot of certain patients, and it increases hair growth and thickness and helps enlarge hair follicles so GHK copper can penetrate the stretching corneum and the use of liposomes to increase that penetration. This is used a lot on the scalp for my patients. They like this. There are studies in the Annals of Dermatology in 2016, that showed the efficacy of a complex five-aminolevulinic acid and GHK peptide on hair growth. The study showed that the complex of the five-ALA and the GHK peptide can be considered as one complimentary agent for the treatment of male pattern baldness loss, and they were shown to have an increased hair count, which was significantly significant. This is very important for people who are concerned about losing hair. Specifically on the scalp, it increases hair growth and thickness, enlarges the hair follicle, and improves hair transplant success. Those are awesome. The research in the skin, there've been a few important studies. 

One of them was called Cosmeceuticals in Active Cosmetics: drugs versus Cosmetics, Markel Tucker, New York, New York. This is a 12-week facial study of 67 women. They were between the ages of 50 and 59, with mild to advanced photodamage. They applied a GHK copper cream twice daily for 12 weeks. They showed improved skin laxity, clarity, firmness, and appearance; reduced fine lines, coarse wrinkles, and model pigmentation; and increased skin density and thickness. Overall, it seemed to rejuvenate the skin, which I think is so important. At the American Academy of Dermatology 60th Annual Meeting in February 2002, they had a facial cream containing GHK copper peptides applied for 12 weeks to the facial skin of 71 women with mild to advanced science of photoaging, and the study showed it increased skin density and thickness, reduced laxity, improved clarity and reduced fine lines and wrinkles. Once again, just amazing benefits, and I like it for the skin because it's found in the body, and it's been affecting that gene expression and working from the inside out on those. What about wound healing? I think that this will be up and coming. I'm hoping, based on the research, that more hospitals and wound care centers look at GHK copper and other things such as hyperbaric and red light therapy. 

A study showed that GHK copper has been proven in the literature. It helps accelerate wound healing. It increases angiogenesis or increased blood vessel formation so, more oxygen to the wound site to help with healing stimulates collagen synthesis in the fiberglass, which is an increased expression of integrins in P64 in the basal keratinocytes. That's increasing collagen synthesis, which we know GHK copper does. It does it for wounds.  Excessive inflammation can lead to delayed healing and scarring. We see this a lot, especially in people who get chronic wounds, such as diabetics and people with chronic illnesses. This working as an anti-inflammatory can help this peptide. GHK copper reduces TNF-alpha and interleukin-6 synthesis, and secretion and stimulates the synthesis of depreton, which is an extracellular matrix protein. As we discuss anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties and repair that protective skin barrier, then you can get the healing. This is one study on the effect of copper on interleukin-6 secretion in normal human dermal fiberglass. Because of the anti-inflammatory properties of copper, peptides can be used on the skin surface instead of corticosteroids or NSAID drugs, which have more side effects. GHK and their copper complexes decreased tumor necrosis factor alpha-dependent interleukin-6 secretion in fibroblasts, and interleukin-6 is crucial for normal wound healing, skin inflammation, and B-induced erythema. I love this study because it says that it could be an alternative to NSAID steroids, which have side effects. We're not seeing side effects from these peptides, as we've discussed during this summit. Another study on the effective topical tripeptide copper complex on the healing of a skin open wound. Ischemia means lack of blood flow, lack of oxygen, and open wounds. These are open. This was to evaluate the topical peptide. It showed it was an effective stimulant for healing ischemic open wounds in rats and may have applications for the treatment of chronic wounds and other species. A clinical evaluation is warranted. This was a study of animals. Hopefully, we do more wound studies on people. just pretty amazing. I had a patient; it's a quick case study, a 38-year-old male. He went to urgent care for poison ivy two weeks before contacting me and was given steroids and antibiotics. Then he went to urgent care for a rash and was diagnosed with cellulitis. He was given more oral antibiotics and Neosporin topically.  

The initial picture said to me that it was just candida. It was yeast. It was the teeniest krewes or jocks. It. It was right on the inner thigh. It was pretty obvious. But because they were putting this exclusive dressing on the Neosporin, it was just feeding the yeast, feeding that rash, giving antibiotics, and disrupting the gut flora even more. It looked like a mess. It was about this big. I got him off the steroids, and the antibiotics, and started him on Candida supplements and even one dose. I couldn't because it was so bad that I had to put nystatin powder topically on it. Also, just to dry it out a little bit,  It did improve. He sent me another picture three days later, and I was like, Are you ready for some big guns? We put topical GHK copper on the wound, and it was two milligrams per milliliter of cream twice a day, and three days later it looked so much better. He was so happy. He wasn't going to have a big scar or anything like that. Great as just another tool in your toolbox.  I still use some conventional medication, but I also use peptides, especially in wound healing. It's quite beautiful. Some topical formulations of GHK copper. If you're going to be ordering from a compounding pharmacy, you can get some of these amazing products too. such as Vitality Skin Care. 

You can get GHK copper over the counter. If you are calling these into a compounding pharmacy, here are some of the formulations: GHK copper and arginine and Glucophage, which can be either gel cream or arginine, which gives a little bit more of a tightening to the skin. You could compound, and that would be like 0.2 percent copper and 10% arginine in 5% Glucophage. GHK copper, hydrochloric acid, usually two per ten milligrams.  That's usually cream. The hydroponic acid just gives a little bit more plumping effect. But that's more temporary. If that goes away, with the GHK copper going up because it's affecting that gene expression, it's going to stay longer, if that makes sense. GHK copper five milligrams of ML dropper or foam? My female patients tend to like the dropper better, and that's great for hair restoration. Have them at least try it for two months. Don't have them. Just try it for four weeks and then stop. Have them at least try it for two months, and most of my patients keep using it. then for wounds, get a copper header like acid. Sometimes this is paired with BPC 157 as well. You can get cream. Usually, it's like two milligrams per ML of GHK copper for wounds. If you're listening, like, how can topical GHK copper be used? You can use it on the face or the scalp. You can use it topically on the body.  when in the stomach you have their skin from childbirth. I had a 10-pound, 10-ounce baby. I do use some great copper body cream on my belly skin. You could use it on wounds and rashes, as well as post-procedure. laser microneedling, chemical peels, and surgery. It's always had so many great uses for this peptide. I hope that you have enjoyed this mini-talk on GHK copper peptides. Please stay tuned for the rest of the summit. I hope you're enjoying it. This is such a big passion of mine. Thank you.

<h6>Jen Pfleghaar, DO, ABOIM</h6>
Hi, it's Dr. Jen. I wanted to give you guys a mini-talk on the science behind GHK Copper peptides, specifically for the skin and hair follicles. This is a great peptide. GHK copper is glycyl-L-histidyl-L-lysine. It's a naturally occurring peptide. It's found in human serum levels, averaging about 200 nanograms per milliliter. But unfortunately, at age 20, that's how robust they are but then they started to decline to 80 nanograms per milliliter by age 60.  This is why I think this is a great product for the skin because as you age, collagen and elastin decline in the skin. This is one of the ways you can help battle that part of aging. GHK has a high affinity for copper and that forms the chelate GHK-copper. This is when you hear about it the most. The big three things it does are repair, remodel, and rejuvenate. It's sometimes called liquid Botox. GHK-copper improves wound healing and tissue regeneration. This is true for the skin, the hair follicles, the stomach, the intestinal linings, bone tissue, and many other things. It increases collagen and glucosamine glycans. Stimulates synthesis and decoherence. Increases angiogenesis and nerve growth. It possesses antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, which is cool for a peptide and awesome for the skin. As we've learned about peptides, They help turn on and off certain gene expressions in the body and GHK copper affects gene expression because it can help reset the DNA repair genes.

https://drtalks-media.b-cdn.net/Summit%20Audio%20Files/2024%20Summits/2024%20-%20Peptide%20Summit/Transcript/2024_Peptide_Mini%20Talk%20Day%202%20Transcript%20File.pdf

Dr. Jen Pfleghaar is a double board certified physician, Emergency Medicine and Integrative Medicine. She graduated from Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, trained at St Vincent’s Mercy Hospital for EM residency and her Integrative Medicine fellowship was completed at the University of Arizona Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine. 
She is the co-author of the book Eat. Sleep. Move. Breathe. A beginners guide to a healthy lifestyle. Dr. Jen is a board member for the Invisible Disabilities Association, American and Vice President of the NWOOA (Northwest Ohio Osteopathic Association). 
Her own battle with Hashimoto’s thyroid disease led her to make it her mission to help others suffering from not only thyroid disease but other chronic illnesses, such as Lyme, Mold and other autoimmune diseases. 
She really enjoys teaching on her social media Instagram and Youtube where she is @integrativedrmom and her website healthybydrjen.com 
Practicing in Ohio and virtually she guides patients back to health! 
She likes to also spend her time at her children’s sports games, boating with her family, reading the Bible and lifting weights.
Social media handles 
https://www.youtube.com/@integrativedrmom 
https://www.instagram.com/integrativedrmom/

Revitalize Skin & Hair With GHK-Cu Peptides

Jen Pfleghaar, DO, ABOIM

Summary

Content Provided By

Jen Pfleghaar, DO, ABOIM