title: Accelerated recovery from acute brain injuries: clinical efficacy of neurotrophic treatment in stroke and traumatic brain injuries.
abstract: Stroke is one of the most devastating vascular diseases in the world as it is responsible for almost five million deaths per year. Almost 90% of all strokes are ischemic and mainly due to atherosclerosis, cardiac embolism and small-vessel disease. Intracerebral or subarachnoid hemorrhage can lead to hemorrhagic stroke, which usually has the poorest prognosis. Cerebrolysin is a peptide preparation which mimics the action of a neurotrophic factor, protecting stroke-injured neurons and promoting neuroplasticity and neurogenesis. Cerebrolysin has been widely studied as a therapeutic tool for both ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke, as well as traumatic brain injury. In ischemic stroke, Cerebrolysin given as an adjuvant therapy to antiplatelet and rheologically active medication resulted in accelerated improvement in global, neurological and motor functions, cognitive performance and activities of daily living. Cerebrolysin was also safe and well tolerated when administered in patients suffering from hemorrhagic stroke. Traumatic brain injury leads to transient or chronic impairments in physical, cognitive, emotional and behavioral functions. This is associated with deficits in the recognition of basic emotions, the capacity to interpret the mental states of others, and executive functioning. Pilot clinical studies with adjuvant Cerebrolysin in the acute and postacute phases of the injury have shown faster recovery, which translates into an earlier onset of rehabilitation and shortened hospitalization time.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Tel Aviv Medical School, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel. natanb@tasmc.health.gov.il
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bornstein
authors.forename: W S
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Poon
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000208:Acute Disease; D000596:Amino Acids / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology; D015600:Glasgow Coma Scale; D006801:Humans; D020300:Intracranial Hemorrhages / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology; D009414:Nerve Growth Factors / Q000187:drug effects; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D020127:Recovery of Function; D020521:Stroke / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology
chemical_list: D000596:Amino Acids; D009414:Nerve Growth Factors; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents; C006952:cerebrolysin