Cerebrolysin Use in Stroke and Spinal Cord Injury: Review of the Literature and Outcomes

Abstract

Cerebrolysin (CBL) is a porcine brain-derived preparation with noticeable neurotrophic and neuroprotective activity. Treatment with CBL has significant potential to treat various debilitating neurological diseases such as traumatic brain injuries, ischemic stroke, and spinal cord injury. Although using CBL is not approved in the United States, about 50 countries have used it in clinics. CBL is a drug similar to neurotrophins with a multimodal action that effectively helps the central nervous system (CNS) and brain function properly through the protection, maintenance, and regeneration of the neural system. Furthermore, the safety and efficacy of CBL were approved following several clinical trials. Recent studies have shown its neurorecovery potential besides the neuroprotection ability. In addition, CBL efficacy has been reported in patients with moderate-to-severe strokes. A significant effect of CBL was observed in combination with neurorehabilitation versus neurorehabilitation alone. Following spinal cord injury (SCI), a cascade of neurochemical alteration happens in neural cells, including a reduction in producing neurotrophic and growth factors that lead to neural death. Previous studies indicated that exogenous compounds and supplements of different NTFs improve the spinal cord neuroprotection after injury. Among the existing drugs, CBL could be a valuable candidate, a compound mixture of various NTFs with multimodal action.

Keywords: Cerebrolysin, Neurotrophin, Stroke, Spinal cord injury, Treatment