Female Hormone Could Reverse Effects of Head Injuries, If Used Quickly

A female sex hormone involved in pregnancy has been found to be so successful in repairing brain damage in both men and women that a large-scale clinical trial is scheduled to begin next month on more than 1,000 victims of severe head injuries.


Progesterone, a "sex steroid" produced in women as part of the menstrual cycle, is to be injected into patients who suffer brain injuries within hours of their accident in an attempt to limit or even reverse the long-term damage that normally results from severe trauma.

See full article at link:www.independent.co.uk...


Researchers, having trialled female hormone on brain-damaged laboratory animals are soon to conduct trials on over 1,000 people, according to the report

Participants in American trials will be drawn from the thousands of people who suffer trauma as consequence of traffic and other accidents and may include US troops who've been wounded overseas

Thank you for sharing this article! I always knew us females would end up saving the world!

Now, to get serious, this has wonderful implications for brain injuries.

And, you brought this article to the right place. Because you might just be a participant in this study, and not even know it!

From the article:

"Because of the importance of administering the hormone quickly after an accident, and because it will probably involve injecting substances into an unconscious patient, US scientists have taken the unusual step of bypassing the normal convention of seeking informed consent from close relatives.

"A person might well be enrolled in the study without a legal guardian's or family member's consent. The US Food and Drug Administration has created a set of special rules [which] allow research studies in certain emergency situations to be conducted without consent," said David Wright, assistant professor of emergency medicine at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, and lead investigator on the trial."

Have you ever heard of studies conducted like this before?

At any rate, great article, I hope others weigh in with their thoughts.

reply to post by hotbakedtater


Thanks, Hotbaked

No, I've never heard of 'special rules' being introduced to facilitate medical treatment being administered without signed consent on the part of the patient or next of kin ... apart from possibly 'national emergencies' arising from pandemic or similar. Not to say these 'special rules' haven't been authorised of course -- maybe we haven't been advised

I'm wondering if the 'female hormone' referred to in the article is a synthesised version of progesterone ? Otherwise, how would the researchers obtain it ?

If a synthetic form, it does leave the door open for Big Pharma and they're appearing increasingly untrustworthy in light of recent news re: drugs for Type-2 diabetes, one brand of which is being cited as responsible for hundreds of US deaths (from heart attack). Patients are being advised to switch to a different brand

Would hate to see the same situation arise in regard to the progesterone they are hailing as possibly capable of treating severe head trauma, in this current report

Found the answer to my own question

What form of progesterone will they use ?

YAMS !

Yams

The active ingredient, natural progesterone, is very similar to that used in the first contraceptive pills. This has now been superseded by a synthetic progesterone known as progestin. But, for brain injury, only the natural hormone appears to have the desired protective effect.

During the trial, patients with blunt trauma head injuries will be given an infusion of natural progesterone that will last for four days. The hormone is extracted from yams - also known as sweet potatoes.

"The dose is probably about three times what would be found in [the blood] of a female in the third trimester of pregnancy," Dr Wright explained.

The US Federal Drug Administration (FDA) has made a special allowance for the team to administer the drug without patients' consent - so it can be given as soon as possible and have the maximum protective effect.

More info at link:

news.bbc.co.uk...


Sweet potatoes, huh ?

Well, that sounds Ok

Interesting, too

Picked up this next item whilst browsing

Crystal clue in army brain injury

A colour-changing crystal attached to a soldier's uniform could help doctors decide if they need treatment for a brain injury, researchers say.

The crystal reveals the intensity of a bomb blast the wearer has been exposed to, helping doctors treat injuries that might not be immediately apparent.

Shockwaves from bomb blasts can cause brain damage not visible on MRI scans, New Scientist magazine reports.

US researchers recently presented the research at a neurotrauma conference.

More at link:
news.bbc.co.uk...

Apparently the 'crystal' would be a wafer-type object, similar to a sticker

The article goes on to say that scientists are now working on a means of determining how the various colours of the crystal relate to severity of the shock sustained by the soldier

Very imaginative, huh ?