1
Front Matter
5 chapters2
Part I: The Science of Peptides
7 chapters- Part I — The Science of Peptides
- Chapter 1: What Are Peptides? Amino Acids, Peptide Bonds, and the Molecules Between Small Drugs and Large Proteins
- Chapter 2: How Peptides Work in Your Body: Hormones, Neurotransmitters, Signaling, and the Receptor Dance
- Chapter 3: The Endocrine System: The Peptide Hormone Orchestra That Runs Your Body
- Chapter 4: Peptide Pharmacology: Why Peptide Drugs Are Hard to Make, Hard to Deliver, and Worth the Effort
- Chapter 5: How to Evaluate Peptide Evidence: Clinical Trials, Animal Studies, and Why Reddit Is Not a Peer-Reviewed Journal
- Chapter 6: The Peptide Hype Cycle: How Social Media, Biohacking Culture, and Gray Markets Distort the Science
3
Part II: Metabolic Peptides
8 chapters- Part II — Metabolic Peptides: The Revolution
- Chapter 7: The Incretin System: GLP-1, GIP, and How Your Gut Tells Your Brain You're Full
- Chapter 8: Semaglutide: The Peptide That Changed Medicine — From GLP-1 to Ozempic to Wegovy
- Chapter 9: Tirzepatide and Beyond: Dual and Triple Agonists
- Chapter 10: Beyond Weight Loss: GLP-1 for the Heart, Kidney, Liver, Brain, and Addiction
- Chapter 11: Insulin: The Original Peptide Drug — 100 Years of Saving Lives
- Chapter 12: GLP-1 Agonists and Society — Access, Cost, Shortages, Off-Label Use, and the Ethics of a Hundred-Billion-Dollar Drug Class
- Chapter 13: Weight Loss Peptides Beyond GLP-1: Amylin, Melanocortins, Setmelanotide, and the Appetite Regulation System
4
Part III: Growth and Repair Peptides
7 chapters- Part III — Growth and Repair Peptides
- Chapter 14: Growth Hormone — What It Does, How It Declines, and the Science of the "Youth Hormone"
- Chapter 15: Growth Hormone Secretagogues — CJC-1295, Ipamorelin, Tesamorelin, MK-677
- Chapter 16: IGF-1, Myostatin Inhibitors, and the Muscle-Building Peptides
- Chapter 17: BPC-157 — The "Healing Peptide": Remarkable Animal Data, Zero Human Trials, and What That Means
- Chapter 18: TB-500, Thymosin Alpha-1, and Other Recovery and Immune Peptides
- Chapter 19: The Gray Market — Research Peptides, Compounding Pharmacies, and the Risks of Self-Experimentation
5
Part IV: Neuropeptides and Social Peptides
6 chapters- Part IV — Neuropeptides and Social Peptides
- Chapter 20: Endorphins, Enkephalins, and the Opioid Peptides — Your Body's Natural Painkillers
- Chapter 21: Oxytocin and Vasopressin — The "Love Hormones": What They Actually Do
- Chapter 22: Neuropeptide Y, Substance P, and the Peptides That Regulate Stress, Pain, and Appetite in the Brain
- Chapter 23: Nootropic and Neuroprotective Peptides — Semax, Selank, Cerebrolysin, and the Cognitive Claims
- Chapter 24: PT-141 (Bremelanotide) and the Sexual Function Peptides
6
Part V: Peptides in Medicine
8 chapters- Part V — Peptides in Medicine
- Chapter 25: Antimicrobial Peptides — The Natural Weapons That Could Solve Antibiotic Resistance
- Chapter 26: Peptide Vaccines — Cancer Immunotherapy and Infectious Disease Prevention
- Chapter 27: Peptides in Oncology — Hormone-Axis Blockade, Somatostatin Analogs, and Radioligand Therapy
- Chapter 28: Natriuretic Peptides — The Heart Failure Biomarkers That Became Treatments
- Chapter 29: The Peptide Drugs Already in Your Pharmacy
- Chapter 30: Peptides in Dermatology and Cosmetics — What's in Your Skincare (and Does Any of It Work?)
- Chapter 31: Peptides in Veterinary Medicine — Where Some "Human" Peptides Were First Used
7
Part VI: Peptide Science and Technology
6 chapters- Part VI — Peptide Science and Technology
- Chapter 32: How Peptides Are Made — Solid-Phase Synthesis, Recombinant Production, and Why Peptide Drugs Cost What They Cost
- Chapter 33: Peptide Engineering — How Scientists Modify Peptides to Make Better Drugs
- Chapter 34: Peptide Analysis and Quality Control — How Anyone Knows What's Actually in the Vial
- Chapter 35: Peptide Discovery — From Venom to Artificial Intelligence
- Chapter 36: What's Actually Coming — Peptides in the Next Decade, and How to Read Anyone's Prediction Including This One
8
Part VII: Synthesis and Reference
5 chapters9
Part VIII: Peptides in Public Life
5 chapters- Part VIII — Peptides in Public Life
- Chapter 41: Ozempic Enters the Language
- Chapter 42: The Creator Economy and the Peptide Pipeline
- Chapter 43: Enhancement Outside the Clinic — Work, Sport, Military, and the Coercion Question
- Chapter 44: What Happens to a Society on Metabolic Drugs — Food, Insurance, Stigma, and the Limits of Prediction
10
Appendices
14 chapters- Appendix A — The Master Peptide Evidence Table
- Appendix B — The Twenty Amino Acids: A Reference
- Appendix C — Your Peptide Evidence Dossier: Blank Workbook
- Appendix D — Reading a Clinical Trial: A Field Guide
- Appendix E — Approved Peptide Medicines by Indication
- Appendix F — Red Flags: Evaluating a Peptide Information Source
- Appendix G — Regulatory and Legal Quick Reference
- Appendix H — Twenty Worked Evidence Evaluations
- Appendix I — Peptide Nomenclature and How to Read a Sequence
- Appendix J — A Timeline of Peptide Science
- Appendix K — Glossary
- Appendix L — Index
- Appendix M — Answers to Selected Exercises
- Appendix N — Bibliography and Further Reading
11
Instructor Guide
2 chapters12
Instructor Guide: Chapter Notes
44 chapters- Instructor Notes — Chapter 1
- Instructor Notes — Chapter 2
- Instructor Notes — Chapter 3
- Instructor Notes — Chapter 4
- Instructor Notes — Chapter 5
- Instructor Notes — Chapter 6
- Instructor Notes — Chapter 7
- Instructor Notes — Chapter 8
- Instructor Notes — Chapter 9
- Instructor Notes — Chapter 10
- Instructor Notes — Chapter 11
- Instructor Notes — Chapter 12
- Instructor Notes — Chapter 13
- Instructor Notes — Chapter 14
- Instructor Notes — Chapter 15
- Instructor Notes — Chapter 16
- Instructor Notes — Chapter 17
- Instructor Notes — Chapter 18
- Instructor Notes — Chapter 19
- Instructor Notes — Chapter 20
- Instructor Notes — Chapter 21
- Instructor Notes — Chapter 22
- Instructor Notes — Chapter 23
- Instructor Notes — Chapter 24
- Instructor Notes — Chapter 25
- Instructor Notes — Chapter 26
- Instructor Notes — Chapter 27
- Instructor Notes — Chapter 28
- Instructor Notes — Chapter 29
- Instructor Notes — Chapter 30
- Instructor Notes — Chapter 31
- Instructor Notes — Chapter 32
- Instructor Notes — Chapter 33
- Instructor Notes — Chapter 34
- Instructor Notes — Chapter 35
- Instructor Notes — Chapter 36
- Instructor Notes — Chapter 37
- Instructor Notes — Chapter 38
- Instructor Notes — Chapter 39
- Instructor Notes — Chapter 40
- Instructor Notes — Chapter 41
- Instructor Notes — Chapter 42
- Instructor Notes — Chapter 43
- Instructor Notes — Chapter 44
13
Instructor Guide: Discussion Guides
44 chapters- Discussion Guide — Chapter 1
- Discussion Guide — Chapter 2
- Discussion Guide — Chapter 3
- Discussion Guide — Chapter 4
- Discussion Guide — Chapter 5
- Discussion Guide — Chapter 6
- Discussion Guide — Chapter 7
- Discussion Guide — Chapter 8
- Discussion Guide — Chapter 9
- Discussion Guide — Chapter 10
- Discussion Guide — Chapter 11
- Discussion Guide — Chapter 12
- Discussion Guide — Chapter 13
- Discussion Guide — Chapter 14
- Discussion Guide — Chapter 15
- Discussion Guide — Chapter 16
- Discussion Guide — Chapter 17
- Discussion Guide — Chapter 18
- Discussion Guide — Chapter 19
- Discussion Guide — Chapter 20
- Discussion Guide — Chapter 21
- Discussion Guide — Chapter 22
- Discussion Guide — Chapter 23
- Discussion Guide — Chapter 24
- Discussion Guide — Chapter 25
- Discussion Guide — Chapter 26
- Discussion Guide — Chapter 27
- Discussion Guide — Chapter 28
- Discussion Guide — Chapter 29
- Discussion Guide — Chapter 30
- Discussion Guide — Chapter 31
- Discussion Guide — Chapter 32
- Discussion Guide — Chapter 33
- Discussion Guide — Chapter 34
- Discussion Guide — Chapter 35
- Discussion Guide — Chapter 36
- Discussion Guide — Chapter 37
- Discussion Guide — Chapter 38
- Discussion Guide — Chapter 39
- Discussion Guide — Chapter 40
- Discussion Guide — Chapter 41
- Discussion Guide — Chapter 42
- Discussion Guide — Chapter 43
- Discussion Guide — Chapter 44
14
Instructor Guide: Assessment
9 chapters- Final Exam — Cumulative
- Midterm Exam — Parts I–III
- Practical Evaluation Exam — Open Book
- Rubric — Single Claim Evaluation
- Rubric — The Peptide Evidence Dossier
- Rubric — Participation and Discussion
- Syllabus — One-Semester Survey
- Syllabus — Professional Development Short Course
- Syllabus — Two-Semester Sequence
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