Current Trials Test the Benefits of Administering the Progesterone Hormone to TBI Patients
Monday, July 29, 2013 at 7:18PM 
A 3-D model of the Progesterone molecule (Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)According to the Centers for Disease Control, more than 1.7 million Americans sustain a traumatic brain injury annually. Breaking this down further, 1.4 million of them are treated and released from Emergency Departments, 275,000 are hospitalized, 80,000 suffer long term disabilities, and 52,000 are killed.
While there is an alarming number of TBIs occurring each year, there are no approved medications that have been shown to improve a partient's outcome. In recent years, however, progesterone, the natural human hormone often associated with pregnancy, has shown some promise in improving patients' conditions if immediately administered after a TBI. It is believed that progesterone has neuroprotective properties that can reduce the swelling of the brain, a main cause of cell death after injury.
Currently, two trials are being conducted by researchers at Emory Univeristy and BHR Pharma to further explore the benefits of progesterone in treating TBI patients. Along with Dr. David Gordon, an assistant professor of neurosurgery at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, we await the results of these trials with "some measure of cautious optimism."*
To learn more, check out the below links used to write up this post...
*David Tuller (NYTimes): "A Hormonal Remedy for Brain Injuries Is Explored"
Denise Dador (ABC Los Angeles): "Hormone Could Help Heal Traumatic Brain Injuries"
BHR Pharma, LLC: The SyNAPSe Trial Website