Most of us correctly associate the hormone progesterone with the female reproductive system. However, this hormone has also been the subject of multiple research studies for almost thirty years since it may offer distinct neuroprotective properties to injured brains.

Years ago, scientists noticed that during various experiments, female rats tended to fare better than their male counterparts after TBIs were inflicted upon them. That observation led researchers to confirm that “progesterone is a potent neurosteroid and [that] progesterone receptors are abundant and widely distributed in the central nervous system (CNS).”

TBI Patients’ Immediate Needs Following Injury

At present, doctors are still searching for new treatments that can comprehensively address TBI patients’ most critical needs right after suffering their injuries. There’s a possibility that intravenous progesterone may help new TBI patients maintain proper blood pressure and oxygenation – and even help control the increased intracranial pressure that often confronts them. Of course, new TBI patients will need to receive this progesterone treatment shortly after they’re first brought into hospital emergency rooms.

The next section of this article provides a brief look at how one current clinical trial is administering progesterone to new TBI patients in hopes that they’ll fare better during their rehabilitative treatments and enjoy more favorable overall outcomes.

One Philadelphia Clinical Trial Involving Progesterone

There’s a three-year clinical trial now underway at Philadelphia’s Temple University Hospital that’s seeking to document the precise ways that TBI patients can benefit from having progesterone introduced intravenously shortly after they’ve suffered their injuries. The clinical trial is well designed and is making sure that all patients are receiving the standard TBI care. However, some will also be receiving progesterone treatments. The remaining clinical patients will just receive a placebo treatment in addition to the standardized care.

One of the medical trial professionals has said that they will probably inject some of the study participants with progesterone shortly after they’ve had a CAT scan done — yet before they undergo any necessary operations. (It’s believed that new TBI patient need to receive their first progesterone treatment within four hours of their injury to be included within the study). These special treatments will continue for four days in a row and then all of the patients will be followed for six months after their injuries to document their overall recovery levels.

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