Follow a claim back to the question it tested.

Find the people behind the result

Look for who was studied and what the study tried to find out. Ask whether the result is about a person’s daily symptoms or a measurement in a lab.

The Selank memory experiments described here were done in rats; they do not establish a memory benefit for people.

The human brain-scan study looked at healthy volunteers, rather than showing that Selank treats anxiety.

Keep the claim small enough to fit the study. “Changed a scan” and “helped people feel better” ask different questions.

Find the comparison

The small Russian patient studies compared Selank with another calming drug or added it to another drug, without a dummy-treatment group.

Ask: could people have improved for another reason? If someone repeats a hopeful headline, ask them to show who was studied, what they received, and what was compared.

Find the kind of official record

As checked on September 30, 2026, Selank’s US drug-code listings described ingredient powders, and none was a finished medicine.

An FDA registration or drug listing does not give a product FDA approval.

Copy the claim into your notes in your own words. Beside it, note the source, what was tested, and the question still left open. This gives you something concrete to discuss without collecting a pile of links.