What it is#

Thymosin alpha 1 (often abbreviated Tα1 or TA-1) is a small peptide (28 amino acids) naturally produced in the thymus that’s best described as an immune modulator: it can influence how immune cells communicate and respond, including effects on T-cell function and signaling pathways involved in fighting infections. A synthetic version (thymalfasin) has been used clinically in a number of countries and has been studied across contexts like chronic viral hepatitis, infections and sepsis, some cancers, and as a way to improve vaccine responses—overall positioning it as an “immune response tuning” molecule rather than a direct antimicrobial drug (review).

My hypothesis#

Many of my immune-related symptoms match that of psoriatic arthritis, a condition that other family members have been diagnosed with. There’s growing evidence that diseases such as this can be correlated with significantly lower levels of ta-1.

The goal of taking ta-1 is to exercise the possibility that at some point during the onset of my immune-problems, there may have been an acute cause, like an infection, that may no longer be present.

If such a cause is no longer present but my immune system is still dysregulated, then by taking ta-1 I might be able to improve my immune function into a stable state going forward. In the best case this may allow me to eat dairy and gluten again without triggering an immune response.

Results#

To be honest I didn’t really feel or notice anything. I didn’t have any side effects and I didn’t have any noticeable changes in my immune system.

When I started out I had a bit of post-nasal drip which is common for me after a cold. This went away but only after about 5 weeks near the end of the experiment. My inflammation was low over the course of the experiment but it did flare up occasionally and it didn’t feel lower while taking TA-1 nor did it help with any of my dietary allergies.

About a month or two after the experiment one of my coworkers got seriously sick and passed it onto me. I got sick for 2 days but recovered fast so there’s a chance that TA-1 helped but it’s not clear. It’s possible I didn’t take enough or I didn’t take it for long enough but either way it’s hard to tell.

Data#

I reconstituted 2 10mg vials of TA-1 with 1ml of BAC each.

I injected it subcutaneously twice a week with 1.6mg per dose over 6 weeks and 10 total doses.

Data:

Date	TA-1
1/27	✅
1/20	✅
1/18	✅
1/17	✅
1/11	✅
1/3	✅
12/27	✅
12/23	✅
12/20	✅
12/17	✅