Application of neurotrophic and proangiogenic factors as therapy after peripheral nervous system injury

Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.

• Level A · Stronger Clinical Evidence
• Level B · Emerging clinical evidence with positive signals
• Level C · Early human research exploring benefits
• Level D · Scientific groundwork from lab and animal studies
• Emerging · Emerging topic under active research

Abstract (original English)

The intrinsic ability of peripheral nerves to regenerate after injury is extremely limited, especially in case of severe injury. This often leads to poor motor function and permanent disability. Existing approaches for the treatment of injured nerves do not provide appropriate conditions to support survival and growth of nerve cells. This drawback can be compensated by the use of gene therapy and cell therapy-based drugs that locally provide an increase in the key regulators of nerve growth, including neurotrophic factors and extracellular matrix proteins. Each growth factor plays its own specific angiotrophic or neurotrophic role. Currently, growth factors are widely studied as accelerators of nerve regeneration. Particularly noteworthy is synergy between various growth factors, that is essential for both angiogenesis and neurogenesis. Fibroblast growth factor 2 and vascular endothelial growth factor are widely known for their proangiogenic effects. At the same time, fibroblast growth factor 2 and vascular endothelial growth factor stimulate neural cell growth and play an important role in neurodegenerative diseases of the peripheral nervous system. Taken together, their neurotrophic and angiogenic properties have positive effect on the regeneration process. In this review we provide an in-depth overview of the role of fibroblast growth factor 2 and vascular endothelial growth

Evidence level

Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.

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