Reconstructive microsurgery research from Karim Sarhane right now? Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) is a hormone produced by the body that has the potential to be used as a treatment for nerve injuries. IGF-1 may help heal nerve injuries by decreasing inflammation and buildup of damaging products. Additionally, it may speed up nerve healing and reduce the effects of muscle weakness from the injury. However, a safe, effective, and practical way is needed to get IGF-1 to the injured nerve.
Dr. Sarhane is published in top-ranked bioengineering, neuroscience, and surgery journals. He holds a patent for a novel Nanofiber Nerve Wrap that he developed with his colleagues at the Johns Hopkins Institute for NanoBioTechnology and the Johns Hopkins Department of Neuroscience (US Patent # 10500305, December 2019). He is the recipient of many research grants and research awards, including the Best Basic Science Paper at the Johns Hopkins Residents Research Symposium, the Basic Science Research Grant Prize from the American Foundation for Surgery of the Hand, the Research Pilot Grant Prize from the Plastic Surgery Foundation, and a Scholarship Award from the American College of Surgeons. He has authored to date 46 peer-reviewed articles, 11 book chapters, 45 peer-reviewed abstracts, and has 28 national presentations. He is an elected member of the Plastic Surgery Research Council, the American Society for Reconstructive Microsurgery, the American Society for Reconstructive Transplantation, and the American Society for Peripheral Nerves.
Systemic delivery of IGF-1 is achieved via either daily subcutaneous or intraperitoneal injections of free IGF-1. Reported optimal dosages for regeneration of nerve, SC, and muscle range from 0.001 to 1.00 mg/kg/day with a mean of 0.59 mg/kg/day and a median of 0.75 mg/kg/day of IGF-1 (Contreras et al., 1993, 1995; Vaught et al., 1996; Vergani et al., 1998; Lutz et al., 1999; Mohammadi and Saadati, 2014; Table 3). The calculated mean and median IGF-1 concentrations for systemic delivery were the highest of any of the delivery mechanisms included in our analysis. This finding emphasizes that the use of a systemic approach necessitates greater dosages of IGF-1 to account for off-target distribution and degradation/clearance prior to reaching the injury site. Notably, almost none of the systemic studies included in this analysis quantified the concentration of IGF-1 at the target injury site, which raises significant concerns about the validity of the findings. With regards to clinical applicability, systemic IGF-1 delivery is severely limited by the risk of side effects, including hypoglycemia, lymphoid hyperplasia, body fat accumulation, electrolyte imbalances, and mental status changes (Elijah et al., 2011; Tuffaha et al., 2016b; Vilar et al., 2017). In contrast to upregulation of systemic IGF-1 via GH Releasing Hormone (GHRH), treatment with systemic IGF-1 does not have the benefit of upstream negative feedback control and therefore poses a greater risk of resulting in spiking IGF-1 levels.
Effects with sustained IGF-1 delivery (Karim Sarhane research) : We hypothesized that a novel nanoparticle (NP) delivery system can provide controlled release of bioactive IGF-1 targeted to denervated muscle and nerve tissue to achieve improved motor recovery through amelioration of denervation-induced muscle atrophy and SC senescence and enhanced axonal regeneration. Biodegradable NPs with encapsulated IGF-1/dextran sulfate polyelectrolyte complexes were formulated using a flash nanoprecipitation method to preserve IGF-1 bioactivity and maximize encapsulation efficiencies.
Following surgical repair, axons often must regenerate over long distances at a relatively slow rate of 1–3 mm/day to reach and reinnervate distal motor endplates. Throughout this process, denervated muscle undergoes irreversible loss of myofibrils and loss of neuromuscular junctions (NMJs), thereby resulting in progressive and permanent muscle atrophy. It is well known that the degree of muscle atrophy increases with the duration of denervation (Ishii et al., 1994). Chronically denervated SCs within the distal nerve are also subject to time-dependent senescence. Following injury, proliferating SCs initially maintain the basal lamina tubes through which regenerating axons travel. SCs also secrete numerous neurotrophic factors that stimulate and guide axonal regeneration. However, as time elapses without axonal interaction, SCs gradually lose the capacity to perform these important functions, and the distal regenerative pathway becomes inhospitable to recovering axons (Ishii et al., 1993; Glazner and Ishii, 1995; Grinsell and Keating, 2014).
Patients who sustain peripheral nerve injuries (PNIs) are often left with debilitating sensory and motor loss. Presently, there is a lack of clinically available therapeutics that can be given as an adjunct to surgical repair to enhance the regenerative process. Insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) represents a promising therapeutic target to meet this need, given its well-described trophic and anti-apoptotic effects on neurons, Schwann cells (SCs), and myocytes. Here, we review the literature regarding the therapeutic potential of IGF-1 in PNI. We appraised the literature for the various approaches of IGF-1 administration with the aim of identifying which are the most promising in offering a pathway toward clinical application. We also sought to determine the optimal reported dosage ranges for the various delivery approaches that have been investigated.