Hellweg R, Raivich G
Department of Psychiatry, Free University of Berlin, Germany.
Pharmacopsychiatry. 1994 Jul;27 Suppl 1:15-7. doi: 10.1055/s-2007-1014319.
Neurotrophic factors are target-derived proteins capable of affecting survival, target innervation, and/or function of neuronal cell populations. Nerve growth factor (NGF) is the best-studied member of the genetic family called neurotrophins. There is however little knowledge whether other neurotrophins play a pathophysiological role in diseases of the peripheral and central nervous system. An increasing number of animal studies suggest that NGF plays a role in (a) peripheral nerve regeneration, (b) diabetic neuropathy, and (c) age-related neurodegenerative processes within the brain.
