Ranking peptides for ADHD focus: what the evidence actually supports

What did @daviddemesquita actually say?

In a 621K-view TikTok, creator @daviddemesquita ranked several peptides for ADHD in what he called a "tierless edition." His top picks: Semax (which he called "C-Max") at S-tier for dopamine and BDNF effects, Selank (which he called "Gabo") for its calming properties and a comparison to benzodiazepines, DSIP for sleep and circadian rhythm, and Ribolusine (likely Cerebrolysin or a brand variant he called "Reber Lycen") as an S-plus for safety in children. He also included NAD+ before correcting himself that it is "not a pep, it is a co-enzyme." These are sweeping claims made to a large audience with no clinical caveats, dosing warnings, or physician consultation language anywhere in the video.

Does the science back this up?

Partially, and that "partially" is doing a lot of heavy lifting. Semax does have legitimate preclinical and some human data behind it. Selank has real anxiolytic research, mostly from Russian institutions. But the leap from "this compound affects dopamine" to "use this for ADHD" is not a short one, and the video treats it like a footnote.

Semax, a synthetic analogue of ACTH(4-7), has shown increases in BDNF in rodent studies and some small Russian clinical trials (Dolotov et al., 2006, Journal of Neurochemistry). The BDNF claim has real support. The dopamine framing is fuzzier. Semax appears to modulate dopaminergic tone rather than directly depleting or "drying up" dopamine, which is not how the creator described it. Selank has been studied for anxiety in humans (Zozulya et al., 2008, Bulletin of Experimental Biology and Medicine), and comparisons to benzodiazepines exist in that literature, though the compound is not approved by the FDA and calling it equivalent to "Venzo" (presumably benzodiazepines) overstates what the data shows. DSIP (Delta Sleep-Inducing Peptide) has a genuinely interesting research history, but most studies are decades old, and clinical evidence for its use in circadian rhythm disorders is thin at best (Graf et al., 1984, European Neurology).

What did they get wrong (or right)?

Let's start with what he got right. NAD+ is not a peptide, and he corrected himself on that in real time. Credit where it is due. The BDNF and neuroplasticity angle for Semax is directionally accurate based on preclinical data. Selank does have genuine anxiolytic properties in the literature.

What he got wrong is more consequential. First, saying Semax "dries up dopamine" is a garbled description of a complex neuromodulatory mechanism. That phrasing implies depletion, which is the opposite of what you want for ADHD. Second, comparing Selank to benzodiazepines without any safety context is irresponsible. Benzodiazepines carry dependency risk; telling a large audience that a peptide compares favorably to them without that nuance is misleading. Third, the claim that "Reber Lycen" is FDA-approved and safe for children requires serious scrutiny. If he is referring to Cerebrolysin, that product is not FDA-approved in the United States. If he means something else, the transcript is too garbled to confirm. Claiming FDA approval for an unverifiable compound name to a 621K audience is a significant problem.

What should you actually know?

None of these compounds, Semax, Selank, DSIP, or anything else discussed in this video, are FDA-approved treatments for ADHD. That is not a bureaucratic footnote. It means there are no standardized human clinical trials, no established dosing protocols, no long-term safety data from controlled studies, and no regulatory oversight of purity or concentration in the products being sold.

The peptide research that does exist is largely from Russian and Eastern European institutions, which is not inherently invalid but does mean independent replication is limited. If you have ADHD and you are watching tier-list videos to decide on treatment, that is a signal that your current care plan may need revisiting, not that peptides are the answer. A licensed clinician familiar with ADHD, whether prescribing stimulants, non-stimulants, or evaluating off-label options, is the appropriate starting point. Self-administering unregulated injectable or intranasal peptides based on a TikTok ranking is not a clinical strategy.

• Semax: real BDNF data, no FDA approval, mechanism described inaccurately in video
• Selank: real anxiolytic data, not equivalent to benzodiazepines in any approved sense
• DSIP: very old research base, weak current clinical evidence
• FDA-approved ADHD treatments exist and have decades of safety data behind them