Abstract: This article introduced the important role of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in central nervous system (CNS) function and related diseases, including promoting neuronal growth and survival, enhancing synaptic plasticity, participating in the regulation of neurotransmitters, promoting myelination, and neuroprotective effects, which suggested that BDNF plays an important role in the improvement and treatment of CNS diseases. By summarizing the animal experiments and preclinical studies related to BDNF, the research progress on the effects of BDNF on CNS diseases, such as spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, ischemic brain injury, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, epilepsy and depression, and the molecular mechanism of BDNF in CNS diseases were summarized, which provided ideas for exploring the effects of BDNF in the treatment of related CNS diseases. In the future, the pharmacokinetics mechanism of BDNF can be explored in experimental animals, and different delivery methods of BDNF and its derivatives can be developed to treat CNS related diseases.

Key words: brain-derived neurotrophic factor, CNS injury, neurodegenerative diseases, epilepsy, depression