Insulin-like Growth Factor-1 (igf-1) Accelerates Recovery from Stress Urinary Incontinence in Rats with Simulated Child Birth Trauma Injury through Akt Signal Transduction Pathway

Study design, materials and methods Simulated birth trauma was induced by vaginal distension (VD) with an inflated balloon catheter for 4 hrs in the vagina of female SD rats. Human recombinant IGF-1 (hrIGF-1) (50 and 150μg/kg/day) or vehicle (saline) was continuously delivered from 1 day before VD using subcutaneous osmotic pumps. At 4 and 7 days after VD, the effect of hrIGF-1 was examined by functional and molecular biological analyses. Urethral function was assessed by measuring leak point pressure (LPP), urethral baseline pressure (UBP) and urethral responses during passive elevation in intravesical pressure. Western blotting and histological analyses of urethral tissues were performed to evaluate phosphorylation of Akt and IGF-1-mediated anti-apoptotic and cell proliferative effects.