Potential Medical Breakthrough In Treatment Of Brain Injuries

A potential medical breakthrough in the treatment of severe head injuries is being studied right here in Atlanta. Channel 2’s Dr. Randy Martin has one patient’s story.

In traumatic brain injuries, doctors used to think that all the damage to the brain was the result of the injury. Now, they’ve learned that there are a whole series of events that occur that may, in fact, be more damaging than the original injury.

“They say that there was blood coming from my ears and eyes and everything,” said Robert Smith.

In 2004, Robert Smith was rushed to Grady Hospital after an accident caused him severe head and body injuries. He was in a coma for 2 months.

“My best prognosis at that point was I would be a vegetable, because my brain was a 3 on a scale of 1 to 15,” explained Smith.

But while in Grady’s Trauma Unit Smith’s doctors approached his wife about participating in a study involving patients who suffered severe head injuries.

Every year in this country, there are at least 1.5 million new cases of traumatic brain injury – unfortunately resulting in 50,000 deaths and at least 80,000 cases of long-term disability.

“And there is no drug on the market today that has shown to improve outcomes after a head injury,” said Dr. David Wright.

Dr. Wright and his colleagues conducted a new study on 100 patients with severe head trauma. Eighty percent were given the hormone Progesterone intravenously for 3 days while the others received a placebo or sugar pill.

Why Progesterone?

Previous animal studies found that Progesterone appeared to protect the brain from damaging chemicals which are released when brain cells are injured.

And while this study was done to see if the Progesterone treatment was safe, at the end of 30 days, the results for patients receiving the hormone were dramatic.

“We found a 50% reduction in mortality, and in the moderate head injury patients we found improvement in behavioral function,” said Dr. Wright.

Even though the news is extremely encouraging, Dr. Wright said more long-term studies are needed.

Today, Robert Smith is back at work and he says he’s very grateful for the new brain injury research that may have saved his life.

“The Progesterone, I believe, is the reason I am able to function the way I am,” said Smith.