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Glossary

Washout

Also called Washout period, Off period, Rest period, Clearance period

Time off a compound so it clears the body before you start something else or measure your baseline. In trials it separates one treatment from the next.

In more detail

In crossover trials, a washout keeps the effect of the first treatment from bleeding into the second. The SS-31 (elamipretide) trials, for example, used a 4-week washout between periods.

In community use, a washout is the "off" part of a cycle, or a gap before switching compounds or getting labs done. How long it needs to be depends mostly on the compound's half-life and how long its effects persist.

Why it matters

Switching straight from one compound to another muddies which one is doing what, and with long-acting drugs it can stack effects you did not plan for.

Related terms

Peptides where this comes up

Sources

Each source is labeled by where the information comes from. How we label sources

  1. Clinical study
    TAZPOWER: elamipretide in Barth syndrome (NCT03098797)(opens in a new tab)

    ClinicalTrials.gov · checked

  2. Reference work
    Biological half-life(opens in a new tab)

    Wikipedia · checked

  3. Competitor guide
    Peptide cycling guide: when to take breaks(opens in a new tab)

    peptiq.io · checked

Updated