Een andere versie van alfa MSH. Doet niet alleen iets met de
huidcellen maar verhoogt ook de aanmaak van NO in de zwellichamen van de
penis. Heeft een afslankeffect doordat het de aanmaak van UCP3 in bruin vetweefsel en spieren verhoogt (bron). Daardoor verhoging van de stofwisseling.
Melanotan 2: bijwerkingen
Milde misselijkheid, gapen, bruinverkleuring op billen, bovenlichaam en gezicht. Verlies van eetlust. Erecties bij mannen.
Melanotan 2: gebruik en werking
Onderhuidse injecties van 0,01 tot 0,005 milligram per kilo
lichaamsgewicht. Erecties komen 1 tot 5 uur na injecties, afhankelijk
van dosis. Dosis van 0,025 milligram effectief om erecties te
veroorzaken bij door psychische oorzaken impotente mannen. Ook toename
van de zin in seks.
Melanotan 2: de maker
Het Amerikaanse Palatin doet klinisch onderzoek.
Sunless Tanning
Melanotan II – Sunless Tanning Peptide
Melanotan II is an analog of the peptide hormone alpha-melanocyte
stimulating hormone (α-MSH) that induces skin tanning. In addition,
Melanotan II has the additional effect of increasing female and male
libido. It is currently being used around the world mainly as an
effective sunless tanning solution. Melanotan II provides the protective
benefit of a tan without the harm of sun exposure. In essence, it could
protect people by providing them with a slight sunless tan that would
make them less prone to burn with their day-to-day exposure to the sun.
Melanotan II History and Development
Melanotan II was developed by researchers at the University of
Arizona College of Medicine. Melanotan II is an analog of the peptide
hormone alpha-melanocyte stimulating hormone (α-MSH), this hormone
provides a therapeutic tan with the ability to lower the risk of skin
cancer, (MSH) also plays an important role in regulating sexual arousal
in men and women. Melanotan II has the additional effect of decreasing
body fat mass and is known to suppress the appetite. Melanotan II is a
cyclic lactyam analog of alpha-MSH with the amino acid sequence
Ac-Nle-cyclo[Asp-His-D-Phe-Arg-Trp-Lys]-NH2.
Melanotan II is in a class of peptide hormones known as Melanocortins
(MCs). Melanocortins (MCs) are multifunctional peptide hormones that
regulate a diversity of physiological functions. MCs have been
implicated in sexual function in animals.
In 1998 the University of Arizona improved the peptide even further
and developed Melanotan II which was an even more effective sunless
tanning agent. Both Melanotan I and II are synthetic hormones of
melanocyte stimulating hormone that is responsible for darkening the
pigment of your skin when exposed to sunlight. Melanotan I is a linear,
full length peptide [containing all 13 amino acids]. Melanotan II is a
shortened, circular version of the same peptide.
Melanotan Skin Tanning Process
Melanotan is a synthetic hormone that mimics the action of MSH, or
melanocyte-stimulating hormone which is responsible for darkening the
pigments of the skin. Typically when your skin is exposed to UltaViolet
radiation (the sun or tanning beds) your skin will release melanocytes
as a natural defense to protect your skin from absorbing an excess
amount of solar radiation. This natural defense to UV light is what
leads to tanning or a darkening of your skin. Melanotan is a peptide
which similuates this melanocyte response chemically in the absense of
the sun. Therefore it is theoretically safer, because your skin pigment
is responding to the simulated hormone rather than from actual UV damage
to the skin.
They knew the body’s naturally occurring hormone alpha-melanocyte
stimulating hormone (α-MSH) caused melanogenesis, a process by which the
skin’s tanning cells (melanocytes) produce the skin’s tanning pigment
(melanin). With that knowledge they tested to see if administering this
hormone to the body directly could be an effective method to cause
sunless tanning. What they found was that while it appeared to work,
natural alpha-MSH had too short a half life in the body to be practical
as a therapeutic drug. So they decided to try and find a more potent and
stable alternative, one that would be more practical.
After synthesizing and screening hundreds of molecules, the
researchers headed by Dr. Victor Hruby, found a peptide that after
trials and testing seemed to not only be safe but also approximately
1,000 times more potent than natural α-MSH. They dubbed this new peptide
Melanotan.
Since their discovery, numerous studies dating back to the mid-1980s
have shown no obvious toxic effects of Melanotan. Because skin cancer
(melanoma) today is a major health concern, Melanotan is expected to be
used as a drug to combat it. Melanotan will do this by stimulating the
body’s natural tanning mechanism to create a tan without first needing
exposure to harmful levels of UV radiation. This in turn may reduce the
potential for skin damage that can eventually lead to skin cancer.
The Arizona Cancer Center is working with Melanotan not only as a
drug with cosmetic applications but in order to reduce the risk of skin
cancer. They feel that if fair skinned people take Melanotan it will
offer them the protective benefit of a tan without the harm of sun
exposure. In essence, it could protect people by providing them with a
slight sunless tan that would make them less prone to burn with their
day-to-day exposure to the sun.
Melanotan II Side Effects – Libido Increase
While testing the new peptide Melanotan II scientists found that it
had an unexpected side effect: it caused spontaneous erections in men.
The American Association of Urologists tested this peptide extensive and
found that it did not change the bloodflow or selectively expand or
restrict capilaries in the same manner that Viagra or Cialis treats
erectile dysfunction. It works by sending a signal to the brain which
causes the body to naturally secrete the hormone which causes an
enhanced erection. They did further testing and found that this same
responside with women it increased sexual desire and genital arousal.
Evaluation is currently being done with this peptide in hopes of
developing a new type of erectile dysfunction drug, however the Arizona
Cancer Center suspended all development of Melanotan II as a tanning
agent.
Melanotan II , can enhance sexual function in human males (erectile
activity) and females (increased levels of sexual desire and genital
arousal). Unlike other sexual-enhancement drugs, Melanotan works at the
level of the brain, thus eliciting a rather natural sexual response with
minimal or no undesirable side effects. The actions of the peptide were
discovered accidentally while studying the effects of the peptide and
related analogs on humanskin pigmentation (tanning).
The Arizona Cancer Center’s research has found Melanotan I to be
effective in promoting skin pigmentation with little or no risk, however
it’s role in actually preventing skin cancer has not yet been
determined.
Melanotan II for Redheads, Albinos or Vitiligos
Even with all this development on the Melanotan I and II peptides,
there still remains many unanswered questions. For example, how
effective are these peptides for readheads or people prone to freckles?
It may be quite a few years before these peptides are FDA approved and
once they are approved you will need to go to a cosmetic surgeon’s
office to get them administered. However, you don’t have to wait. They
currently have research grade Melanotan I and II available for all those
research chemists out there (anyone) to test out on their lab-rats
(themselves). They also found that Melanotan will not do anything for
people with albinism or vitiligo because these patients do not have skin
cells with receptors for melanin. For this reason, the synthetic
hormone has no mechanism for action and therefore cannot cause change in
pigment.
Future of Melanotan II
A private U.S. company, Competitive Technologies, announced in March
of last year that they would be developing Melanotan I and II for
commercial use.
A company in Australia, EpiTan, is raising funds to start production
and trials for Melanotan I as a tanning agent to prevent skin cancer.
Unfortunately, rumor has it that the Australian equivalent of the FDA
will not be accepting the research already done in the U.S., which will
greatly delay approval in Australia, as all the tests will have to be
repeated.
Recently, EpiTan announced it is working on a time release injection
version of Melanotan, moving away from an oral formula. These injections
would need to be administered every 30 days, instead of daily. They are
using the same time release injection hormone technology developed for
the birth control drug, Depo Provera.
This peptide has been going through extensive testing and research
over the past ten years, however it is still not yet approved for use by
the FDA. So far, it is effective only when administered by subcutaneous
injection, not orally. Since Melanotan must be administered with
insulin needles, it will never be FDA approved for over-the-counter use
until an effective oral form is developed.
Researchers at the University of Arizona are no longer conducting
research with Melanotan I, although research continues for
Melanotan II.