IGF-1 in retinopathy of prematurity, a CNS neurovascular disease.

Raffael Liegl, Chatarina Löfqvist, Ann Hellström, Lois E H Smith

Journal: Early human development 2017;102():13-19

PMID: 27650433

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Abstract

The retina is part of the central nervous system and both the retina as well as the brain can suffer from severe damage after very preterm birth. Retinopathy of prematurity is one of the major causes of blindness in these children and brain neuronal impairments including cognitive defects, cerebral palsy and intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) are also complications of very preterm birth. Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) acts to promote proliferation, maturation, growth and survival of neural cells. Low levels of circulating IGF-1 are associated with ROP and defects in the IGF-1 gene are associated with CNS disorders including learning deficits and brain growth restriction. Treatment of preterm infants with recombinant IGF-1 may potentially prevent ROP and CNS disorders. This review compares the role of IGF-1 in ROP and CNS disorders. A recent phase 2 study showed a positive effect of IGF-1 on the severity of IVH but no effect on ROP. A phase 3 trial is planned.

Address: Department of Ophthalmology, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.; Department of Ophthalmology, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.; Department of Ophthalmology, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].

DOI: 10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2016.09.008

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MeSH Terms: Humans, Infant, Newborn, Infant, Premature, Receptor, IGF Type 1, Retinopathy of Prematurity