Medications

Acarbose

Alpha-glucosidase inhibitor: approved for type 2 diabetes, longevity potential in animal models

Apomorphine for Erectile Dysfunction

Apomorphine is a non-selective dopamine receptor agonist with a long history in medicine — originally used as an emetic in poisoning treatment, more recently in Parkinson's disease management (subcutaneous Apokyn, sublingual Kynmobi). For erectile…

Bempedoic Acid (Nexletol)

Bempedoic acid is the first ATP-citrate lyase inhibitor approved for clinical use, and the first oral non-statin to demonstrate cardiovascular outcome benefit in a large randomized trial. It lowers LDL cholesterol by inhibiting ATP-citrate lyase…

Bimagrumab (BYM338)

Bimagrumab (BYM338) is a fully human monoclonal antibody that binds and blocks the activin receptor type II (ActRII), preventing signaling from myostatin, activin A, and other ActRII ligands that negatively regulate skeletal muscle mass. By blocking…

Bisphosphonates Explainer

Bisphosphonates are the most-prescribed and best-evidenced class of osteoporosis treatment. They are synthetic analogs of pyrophosphate (a natural bone-binding compound) that deposit in bone at sites of active resorption. Osteoclasts take up the…

Bupropion-Naltrexone (Contrave)

Bupropion-naltrexone sustained-release (brand name Contrave) is an FDA-approved combination weight-loss drug, approved in September 2014. It pairs bupropion — a norepinephrine and dopamine reuptake inhibitor used as an antidepressant and…

Denosumab (Prolia)

Denosumab (brand name Prolia for osteoporosis, Xgeva for bone metastasis applications, Amgen) is a fully human monoclonal antibody targeting RANKL (receptor activator of nuclear factor κB ligand). RANKL is the principal cytokine driving osteoclast…

DORAs — Dual Orexin Receptor Antagonists

Dual orexin receptor antagonists (DORAs) are the first novel mechanism approved for primary insomnia since the Z-drugs (zolpidem, eszopiclone, zaleplon) entered the market in the 1990s. Three are FDA-approved as of 2026: suvorexant (Belsomra,…

Dutasteride

5-alpha reductase inhibitor: approved for BPH, off-label for androgenetic alopecia

Finasteride

5-Alpha Reductase Inhibition for Prostate Health and Hair Preservation

Hormonal Guide

Cabergoline

Immunomodulation Guide

Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN)

Inclisiran (Leqvio)

Inclisiran is a small interfering RNA (siRNA) therapeutic that silences the production of PCSK9 in the liver. Functionally, the result is the same as the monoclonal antibody PCSK9 inhibitors (evolocumab, alirocumab): more LDL receptors on hepatocyte…

Ketamine Therapy

Ketamine is an NMDA-receptor antagonist that has been on the U.S. market as an anesthetic since 1970. In the early 2000s, NIH-funded work demonstrated that sub-anesthetic doses (~0.5 mg/kg IV over 40 minutes) produce rapid and substantial…

Losartan — The Uricosuric ARB with a Marfan and TGF-β Story

Losartan (Cozaar, first FDA-approved 1995) is the prototype angiotensin II receptor blocker. It shares the class-level mechanism (selective AT1 receptor blockade), core indications (hypertension, diabetic nephropathy, heart failure, cardiovascular…

Low-Dose Doxepin (Silenor)

Doxepin is a tricyclic antidepressant that has been on the U.S. market since 1969. At antidepressant doses (75–300 mg/day), it has the classic tricyclic side-effect profile — anticholinergic dry mouth, constipation, urinary retention, orthostatic…

Low-Dose Lithium

Neuroprotective at 5-20mg daily; regulatory ambiguity between pharmaceutical lithium and supplements

Low-Dose Naltrexone (LDN)

Metformin

The Metabolic Workhorse for Glucose Control and Longevity

Methylene Blue

Antioxidant with cognitive enhancement potential, serotonin syndrome risk critical

Microdosing Psychedelics

Microdosing is the practice of taking sub-perceptual doses of a classical psychedelic — most commonly psilocybin (roughly 0.1–0.5 g of dried Psilocybe cubensis, or about 1–3 mg of pure psilocybin) or LSD (approximately 5–20 mcg) — every few days,…

Minoxidil

FDA-approved OTC topical for hair loss; oral off-label but increasingly prescribed

Modafinil

Wakefulness promotion with schedule IV controls

Noopept

Noopept (N-phenylacetyl-L-prolylglycine ethyl ester) is a synthetic dipeptide developed in Russia in the mid-1990s at the Institute of Pharmacology of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences. It was developed as a more potent analogue of piracetam —…

Oral Minoxidil (Low-Dose)

Minoxidil is a potassium channel opener originally developed as an antihypertensive in the 1970s. The hair-growth side effect was noticed quickly; topical minoxidil was approved for androgenetic alopecia in 1988 and became the dominant…

Phentermine/Topiramate (Qsymia) — Second-Line Anti-Obesity in the GLP-1 Era

Qsymia is a fixed-dose combination of immediate-release phentermine (a sympathomimetic appetite suppressant) and extended-release topiramate (an anticonvulsant with appetite-reducing properties through multiple mechanisms), FDA-approved in July 2012…

Racetams — The Legacy Nootropic Class

The racetam family is the original modern nootropic drug class. Piracetam was synthesized by Corneliu Giurgea in 1964 in Belgium; the term "nootropic" itself was coined by Giurgea to describe what he believed piracetam to be. The class shares a…

Romosozumab (Evenity)

Romosozumab (brand name Evenity, Amgen/UCB) is a humanized monoclonal antibody targeting sclerostin, a protein secreted by osteocytes that inhibits the Wnt signaling pathway in osteoblasts. By neutralizing sclerostin, romosozumab simultaneously…

Setipiprant

Setipiprant is a small-molecule antagonist of the prostaglandin D2 receptor 2 (DP2, also called CRTH2). It was originally developed as a potential treatment for asthma and allergic disorders due to PGD2's role in inflammatory responses. In 2012, a…

Setmelanotide (Imcivree)

Setmelanotide (brand name Imcivree, Rhythm Pharmaceuticals) is a melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R) agonist administered as a daily subcutaneous injection. It is FDA-approved for chronic weight management in patients aged 6 years and older with obesity…

SGLT2 Inhibitors

Approved for type 2 diabetes, heart failure, and chronic kidney disease; off-label longevity and cardiometabolic optimization

Sildenafil (Viagra)

The Original Phosphodiesterase-5 Inhibitor for Erectile Function

SSRIs — Long-Term Use and PSSD

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) — fluoxetine, sertraline, citalopram, escitalopram, paroxetine, fluvoxamine — and the closely related SNRIs (venlafaxine, duloxetine) are among the most-prescribed medication classes in modern…

Statins

Most prescribed drugs globally; approved for primary and secondary cardiovascular prevention

Tadalafil (Cialis)

The Long-Acting Phosphodiesterase-5 Inhibitor for Erectile Function and Hemodynamics

Telmisartan

ARB with unique PPAR-gamma activation; off-label optimization use emerging

The Next-Generation GLP-1s: Retatrutide, Survodutide, Pemvidutide, and CagriSema

Four investigational compounds reshaping the weight-loss and metabolic-disease conversation in 2025-2026. What the trials actually showed, where each one differs mechanistically, and how to think about them now versus when they reach the pharmacy.

Tirzepatide (Zepbound, Mounjaro)

Tirzepatide is a synthetic peptide agonist of both the glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) receptor and the glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor. FDA-approved as Mounjaro for type 2 diabetes (2022) and as Zepbound for chronic…

Topical Finasteride and Dutasteride

Oral finasteride (1 mg/day) and oral dutasteride (0.5 mg/day) are the most-evidenced medical therapies for male androgenetic alopecia. Both work by inhibiting 5-alpha reductase, the enzyme that converts testosterone to the more potent…

Trazodone for Sleep

Trazodone is an FDA-approved antidepressant from 1981 that has, almost entirely off-label, become the most-prescribed sleep medication in the United States. At antidepressant doses (150–600 mg/day), it is an SSRI-era predecessor with a tolerability…

Trimix Injections

Trimix is a compounded intracavernosal injection containing three vasoactive drugs: alprostadil (a prostaglandin E1 analog), papaverine (a smooth-muscle relaxant), and phentolamine (an alpha-adrenergic antagonist). Self-administered by…

Vuity and Pilocarpine Drops for Presbyopia

Presbyopia — the age-related loss of near vision accommodation that affects essentially all adults by their mid-40s — has been managed historically through reading glasses, bifocals, progressive lenses, contact lens monovision, and surgical…