Insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) improves both neurological motor and cognitive outcome following experimental brain injury.

We evaluated the efficacy of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) in attenuating neurobehavioral deficits following lateral fluid percussion (FP) brain injury. Male Sprague-Dawley rats (345-425 g, n = 88) were anesthetized and subjected to FP brain injury of moderate severity (2.4-2.9 atm). In Study 1, IGF-1 (1.0 mg/kg, n = 9) or vehicle (n = 14) was administered by subcutaneous injection at 15 min postinjury and similarly at 12-h intervals for 14 days. In animals evaluated daily for 14 days, IGF-1 treatment attenuated motor dysfunction over the 2-week period (P < 0.02). In Study 2, IGF-1 (4 mg/kg/day, n = 8 uninjured, n = 13 injured) or vehicle (n = 8 uninjured, n = 13 injured) was administered for 2 weeks via a subcutaneous pump implanted 15 min postinjury. IGF-1 administration was associated with increased body weight and mild, transient hypoglycemia which was more pronounced in brain-injured animals. At 2 weeks postinjury (P < 0.05), but not at 48 h or 1 week, brain-injured animals receiving IGF-1 showed improved neuromotor function compared with those receiving vehicle. IGF-1 administration also enhanced learning ability (P < 0.03) and memory retention (P < 0.01) in brain-injured animals at 2 weeks postinjury. Taken together, these data suggest that chronic, posttraumatic administration of the trophic factor IGF-1 may be efficacious in ameliorating neurobehavioral dysfunction associated with traumatic brain injury.