Suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)? Here's what you can do.

The brain is a highly energy consuming organ and contains a tight network of blood vessels known as the vascular network. In the event of an injury, these networks get damaged causing a cascade of adverse events that reduce blood flow to the region. IGF-1 helps build new blood vessels which allows to restore these networks allowing for a smooth vascular network and a healthy blood circulation.

One of the main complications that arises from a traumatic brain event is cognitive impairment. Several clinical studies have reported reduced IGF-1 concentration in patients who suffered TBI despite of the severity of the injury. Furthermore, low circulating IGF-1 levels have been implicated in age-related cognitive decline and in cognitive impairment seen in TBI survivors. This data suggests a plausible association between low levels of circulating IGF-1 contributing to cognitive dysfunction after TBI. Thus, highlighting the importance of restoring or increasing IGF-1 levels in TBI to promote recovery and cognitive function. IGF-1 helps in promoting neuroprotection and neurorepair through its critical involvement in brain plasticity and remodelling mechanisms, making it an important player in brain injury recovery.

Despite the improved understanding of TBI pathology, currently there are no established therapeutic approaches for its treatment that have proven to be efficacious. However, following an injury to the central nervous system, as seen in TBI, increasing IGF-1 levels through supplementation presents with an opportunity that has therapeutic effects.