Progesterone may save lives after brain injury

25 January 2012

A major clinical trial will test whether the female sex hormone progesterone minimises damage and improves recovery after traumatic brain injury.

The large multi-centre clinical trial, called proTECT III (Progesterone for Traumatic Brain Injury - Experimental Clinical Treatment), starts in the US next month and will include a number of UK hospitals. The study will recruit 1,140 patients who arrive at A&E with severe brain injury and meet the eligibility criteria. They will be assigned to receive either placebo or a three-day course of progesterone, and their recovery will be monitored for a further 6-months.

proTECT III follows smaller clinical trials into the effects of progesterone administered in the early stages after brain injury. These trials showed promising results, reducing the number of patients who died shortly after injury, and improving recovery outcomes.

Tony Belli, a consultant neurosurgeon at Southampton General Hospital and the trial's chief investigator in the UK, explains: "We are very excited about this trial which is one of the first and largest studies to be carried out into traumatic brain injury for many years.

"Although we have to be cautious, the rewards of this trial could be phenomenal - the results have the potential to significantly improve the outcome for patients with traumatic brain injuries.

"Anything that improves the survival and recovery of these patients would be a major step forward."

You can find out more about the trial using the links below, and read the results of some of the earlier studies into the effects of progesterone after TBI using the panels on the right.