Breakthrough in Truamatic Brain Injury Drug Therapy

Friday, 29 January 2010 09:10

A breakthrough drug therapy has been developed that could be the first to treat traumatic brain injury.  Dr. Don Stein, director of Emory University's Department of Emergency Medicine, Brain Research Laboratory, has been developing the therapy for the past three decades.  The therapy targets a large population, with 1.5 to 2 million Americans suffering head injuries every year, resulting in 50,000 deaths and 80,000 new long term disability cases.

When an individual suffers head trauma, the brain is flooded with chemicals, triggering a negative chain of events and causing inflammation in the brain.  That pressure builds up in the brain and causes brain injury and death.    Progesterone, a hormone naturally found in the brain, is a powerful developmental hormone.  Studies have shown that progesterone protects damaged brain tissue and is essential for the development of brain neurons.  The goal of the therapy developed by Dr. Stein is to use progesterone to stop that negative chain of events that is set in motion following a brain injury.

Early-stage trials of the therapy have shown that progesterone cut traumatic brain injury related deaths almost in half.  The trials also exhibited cognitive, sensory and motor improvement within one month of injury, as well as , and diminished disability in moderately brain injured individuals. The Phase III trial, spearheaded by Grady Memorial Hospital, will enroll 1,140 patients in 15 states.  If the trial is successful, it is anticipated that the therapy could become the standard of care for individuals with traumatic brain injury.

Read more about this story at the Atlanta Business Chronicle.