Dihexa for Cognitive Enhancement - Quick Reference Sheet
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Dihexa for Cognitive Enhancement

Created on 10/04/2026 – Quick Reference based on Evidence Review created using AI4L / Opus 5.5 – Audit

Dihexa, a synthetic fragment of a natural brain messenger sold online to sharpen memory, reversed memory loss in rodents, partly confirmed by independent laboratories, though several developer papers were withdrawn over altered images. No human study has tested it as sold; an injected form converted into dihexa did not improve thinking in Alzheimer's disease. Risks are mostly unknown: the growth signal it strengthens drives many cancers, and sellers are unregulated. (Full Review)

Protocol

Practitioner range
8–45 mg daily
No tested human dose; from user reports; transdermal cream on the inner forearm reported as most popular route
Time of day
Morning
Common practice to avoid possible sleep disruption; in animals, dosing preceded learning sessions by minutes
Single versus split dosing
Single daily dose
Common practice; used in all trials of the injected precursor; no study has compared single and split schedules
Time to effect
Memory (rats)
3–8 days
Daily dosing during training; the human time course is unknown

Benefits

Contraindications
  • Current or past cancer or known precancerous conditions (theoretical)
  • Receiving MET inhibitors or other cancer therapy (theoretical)
  • Known inherited MET-activating mutations or cancer-predisposition syndromes (theoretical)
  • Pregnant or breastfeeding women (no reproductive data)
  • Children and adolescents (no data in developing brains)
    •
Key Interactions
  • Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (dementia drugs: donepezil, rivastigmine, galantamine): Caution
  • Renin-angiotensin drugs (blood-pressure medications: lisinopril, losartan): Monitor (theoretical)
  • Over-the-counter medications: No interaction identified; Caution (theoretical) with stimulants (caffeine tablets)
  • Supplements with additive neurotrophic aims (lion's mane, Semax, other "synaptogenic" peptides): Monitor (theoretical)
  • Other interventions (growth-factor therapies such as becaplermin or mecasermin, other peptide injections): Monitor (theoretical)
    •

Risk & Side Effects

  • High:
  • Medium:
  • Low: Injection-site reactions and adverse-event discontinuation; eosinophilia and allergic-type reactions; tumor promotion
    •
  • Speculative: Contaminated or mislabeled products; accumulation with repeated dosing; headache, fluid retention and attention changes
    •

Monitoring

Marker Target Why
ALT 7–56 U/L Safety check: unknown liver effects; abnormal stops use
Creatinine 0.6–1.3 mg/dL Safety check: unknown kidney effects; abnormal stops use
Blood pressure No established target; track change from own baseline Safety check: angiotensin-derived compound with unknown effect
Cognitive test score No established target; track change from own baseline Expected to change: the outcome of interest

Cadence: Baseline before starting (plus age-appropriate cancer screening); common practice: cognitive test and blood pressure at 2–4 weeks and at the end of each cycle; liver and kidney panels at the end of each cycle, then every 6–12 months during repeated cycles

Qualitative Assessment

  • Memory in daily tasks (names, appointments, recall of reading)
  • Focus and ability to sustain demanding work
  • Mental fatigue and stamina
  • Sleep quality and onset
  • Headache, mood changes or restlessness
Not medical advice. Educational distillation of a single evidence review. Confirm any decision with a qualified clinician, especially in the presence of prescription drugs or chronic conditions.