Reference
Glossary
Concise, factual definitions of the terms used across the database — from receptor types to legal frameworks.
- ADBG
- The German Anti-Doping Act — governs possession, trade and use of doping agents in Germany.
- Agonist
- A molecule that binds to a receptor and activates it — as opposed to an antagonist, which blocks it.
- AMG
- The German Medicines Act — the law governing approval, dispensing and trade of medicines in Germany.
- Amino acid
- The basic building block of peptides and proteins. The order of amino acids determines function.
- Analog
- A chemically modified variant of a natural substance, usually with altered stability or duration of action.
- Clinical trial
- Human study in phases (I–III): safety, dose-finding and efficacy in progressively larger groups.
- DmMV
- German Doping Agent Quantity Ordinance — defines the quantity above which possession of certain doping agents is punishable.
- EMA
- European Medicines Agency — the EU's medicines authority, responsible for centralised approval.
- Evidence
- The robustness of the scientific data — from preclinical through early studies to clinically established.
- FDA
- Food and Drug Administration — the US authority for approving medicines and food.
- GHRH
- Growth hormone-releasing hormone — controls the release of growth hormone from the pituitary gland.
- GHRP
- Growth hormone-releasing peptide — a class of peptides that stimulate growth hormone release.
- GIP
- Glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide — another incretin hormone that modulates the insulin response.
- GLP-1
- Glucagon-like peptide-1 — a gut hormone (incretin) that influences insulin release and satiety.
- Half-life
- The time in which a substance's blood concentration falls by half. A measure of duration of action.
- Incretin
- Collective term for gut hormones (e.g. GLP-1, GIP) that boost insulin release after eating.
- Molar mass
- The mass of a molecule, given in Dalton (Da). Larger peptides have a higher molar mass.
- Peptide
- A chain of amino acids, shorter than a protein. Many of the body's own messengers and hormones are peptides.
- Preclinical
- The research phase before human studies — typically cell-culture and animal models.
- Receptor
- A docking site on or in a cell through which messengers trigger their effect.
- Subcutaneous
- Administration into the subcutaneous fat tissue (s.c.) — a common form of injection.
- WADA
- World Anti-Doping Agency. Its Prohibited List defines which substances are banned in competitive sport.