Study summary · research use only
[Vasoactive intestinal peptide: a novel neurotrophic factor]
Plain-language summary
Paraphrased from the published abstract below — not a verdict on whether anything works.
This review discusses vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), a 28-amino acid neuropeptide with growth-related actions on dissociated neural cells. The abstract reports that VIP has been described as a regulator of early neurodevelopment and embryonic growth, a stimulator of neocortical astrocytogenesis, and a molecule reported to be neuroprotective against excitotoxic and other neurotoxic substances. The authors describe VIP as a regulator of brain growth and development possibly involved in pathological processes such as microcephalies and neurological impairments observed in very premature babies, and suggest VIP and VIP derivatives could represent a new avenue in the search for therapeutics for excitotoxic lesions of the developing brain.
Abstract
Vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) is a 28-amino acid neuropeptide with potent growth-related actions on dissociated neural cells. In recent years its role in brain development has been elucidated: VIP has been shown to be a regulator of early neurodevelopment and embryonic growth, a stimulator of neocortical astrocytogenesis and a neuroprotective molecule against excitotoxic and other neurotoxic substances. Thus VIP appears as a fundamental regulator of brain growth and development, and a potent neuroprotective agent, possibly involved in pathological processes such as microcephalies and some neurological impairments observed in very premature babies. Similarly, VIP and VIP derivatives could represent a new avenue in the search of therapeutics for excitotoxic lesions of the developing brain.
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