Pregnancy hormone may help with brain injury
The commonly used pregnancy hormone progesterone may be a new resource for people suffering from a traumatic brain injury. Previous studies on animals proved this to be an effective drug to treat brain injuries, and now researchers are beginning to test the effects on humans.
A recent study with 100 participants found that the brain pressure of the 77 patients receiving the hormone remained stable, while the pressure tended to increase in the 23 patients receiving the placebo. However, patients receiving the progesterone remained in comas longer than the placebo patients. A major positive for the drug was found when only 13% of progesterone-treated patients died within 30 days of their injury compared with 30.4% of patients receiving the placebo.
While the study is still in its early stages, it is always promising to see the new possibilities and efforts taken to treat and hopefully one day cure this disease.
You can read more on this study here.