SS-31 in Human Trials

Happy Friday!

Ever wondered what separates the “high performers” from the crowd?

Or why some people bounce back from a heavy workout, late night, or stressful day while others seem to wither and fatigue?

It almost always comes down to one thing: mitochondrial health.

And today, I’m excited to break down the most promising mitochondrial peptide ever studied in humans: SS-31.

Whether you’re a hard-training biohacker, a health nut chasing optimal performance, or someone looking to recover from chronic fatigue, the science on SS-31 is eye-opening.

Below, I’ll walk you through the latest human research (with direct links to each study), what the numbers really show, and how to use SS-31 based on my personal protocol.

FYI, Taylor and I will be hosting a Saturday morning coffee talk live at 10 AM EST. Bring your best questions!

What is SS-31?

First, let’s get you up to speed.

SS-31, also known as elamipretide, is a small peptide engineered to go straight to the mitochondria, the energy factories of every cell.

Once inside, it binds to and protects cardiolipin, a special fat critical for mitochondrial function.

This stabilizes the structure of the mitochondria, making your cells more resilient to stress, better at producing energy, and less likely to pump out damaging free radicals.

Think of SS-31 as mitochondrial “armor.”

It fortifies your cells at the source of energy production, leading to better function in every tissue, including muscle, heart, brain, retina, and more.

And what’s most exciting?

SS-31 has been tested in human clinical trials for everything from heart disease to muscle disorders to vision loss.

SS-31 in Heart Health and Performance

In the EMBRACE-STEMI trial (link), researchers gave SS-31 intravenously to heart attack patients undergoing an emergency procedure (PCI).

Post heart attack, it cut the risk of acute heart failure by 30% within the first 24 hours compared to placebo.

This is huge, since early heart failure after a heart attack predicts long-term survival.

The PROGRESS-HF study (link) explored daily SS-31 in people with chronic heart failure (reduced ejection fraction).

The trial found SS-31 didn’t “remodel” the heart, but quality-of-life scores and mitochondrial health markers moved in the right direction, often 20-30% better than placebo.

The takeaway?

Even if your heart isn’t in crisis, protecting mitochondria helps you feel and perform better.

Muscle Power

Primary mitochondrial myopathy (PMM) is a rare muscle-wasting disease, characterized by the dysfunction of mitochondria.

MMPOWER-1 and MMPOWER-2 trials (MMPOWER-1, MMPOWER-2) tested SS-31 in these patients, showing gains in the “six-minute walk test” (6MWT) of 25-40 meters over placebo (a 7-12% increase in walking capacity in the most severe patients) and significant reductions in fatigue scores.

While the MMPOWER-3 pivotal trial (link) didn’t show improvement across all PMM patients, a genetic subgroup (those with nuclear DNA mutations) gained an average of 25 meters more on the 6MWT than placebo.

Importantly, every study showed outstanding safety.

Only mild injection-site reactions and no serious adverse events.

Barth Syndrome

Barth Syndrome is a devastating mitochondrial condition.

In the TAZPOWER study (study link), SS-31 was given to boys and young men with severe muscle weakness and heart failure.

After three years on SS-31, participants gained an average of +96 meters on the 6MWT, a whopping 25% improvement from baseline, when natural disease progression would normally mean decline over the same period of time.

Cardiac stroke volume (the amount of blood the heart pumps) increased, and fatigue decreased dramatically.

There are very few treatments in rare diseases that show a 20%+ reversal of functional loss.

This is why SS-31 is on the verge of approval for Barth and why biohackers should pay attention.

Vision Protection

One of the most mind-blowing findings?

SS-31’s effect on the eyes.

In the ReCLAIM and ReCLAIM-2 studies (Phase 1, Phase 2), daily SS-31 for age-related macular degeneration (AMD) showed visual acuity gains of 3.6-5.6 letters (statistically significant over baseline).

Even when the average improvement versus placebo was modest, up to 14.6% of patients gained 10+ letters of vision (compared to 2% on placebo).

Most importantly, SS-31 slowed the actual loss of photoreceptor cells by 43% over placebo (that’s the layer responsible for light detection and vision).

This is the first therapy shown to slow mitochondrial aging in the human retina, meaning better low-light vision and reading speed in real-world settings.

Similarly, in Friedreich’s ataxia (study), SS-31 stabilized vision and increased frataxin (the key mitochondrial protein) in advanced cases, though patient numbers were small.

Bottom line: healthier mitochondria = slower neurodegeneration.

Kidneys, Compassionate Use, and Safety

Other small studies in kidney disease and case reports (Textor 2017) show SS-31 can reduce ischemia-reperfusion injury by 20-40% over standard care, preserving kidney function after stenting and improving blood flow.

Plus, in compassionate use for infants and adults with otherwise untreatable mitochondrial collapse, SS-31 led to improved heart function and physical performance, with no red-flag safety issues reported (case report).

Over thousands of human injections, the only real “side effect” is some redness or itching at the injection site.

An easy tradeoff for the performance, energy, and recovery benefits.

So What Can a Healthy Biohacker Expect from SS-31?

What does all this mean for you?

• Endurance & Power: Expect improved exercise tolerance, including higher stamina, lower perceived exertion, and better post-training recovery. If you’re mitochondrially average, you may not gain 96 meters on a walk test, but a 5-15% boost in energy and recovery is realistic.

• Cognition & Focus: Mitochondria power your brain as well as your muscles. Less fatigue, sharper focus, and faster recovery from sleep debt are common.

• Cardiac Resilience: Even in the “healthy” population, protecting heart mitochondria means lower risk of heart dysfunction, especially under stress (training, travel, high-stress work).

• Vision & Aging: Night vision, contrast, and low-light performance, especially for those noticing age-related changes, may see meaningful improvements.

• Cellular Resilience: Across the board, the studies show a slower decline in function, reduced inflammation, and improved cellular repair.

My Dosing Protocol for SS-31

Here’s how I use and recommend SS-31 for healthy, mitochondria-optimizing humans:

• Start with a 10mg vial.

• Add 2ml bacteriostatic water to reconstitute.

• Use 0.5mg to 2mg per day (that’s 0.1ml to 0.4ml on an insulin syringe) subcutaneously in the morning.

• For high-performance athletes or those with heavy mitochondrial stress (or anyone dealing with fatigue, chronic disease, or recovering from injury), doses up to 10mg per day can be used safely, as seen in human trials.

• Most people will feel benefits in energy and recovery within 1-2 weeks.

• Cycle on and off in 8 week intervals.

Final Thoughts

For a limited time, you can try SS-31 from BioLongevity Labs at an unbeatable price.

Until Midnight PST:

• 20% off automatically applied

• PLUS an extra 15% off with code HUNTERW

That’s the best way to experiment with the world’s most promising peptide for cellular health, energy, and recovery.

Order now: Shop SS-31 at BioLongevity Labs

Best,

Hunter Williams