In a fairly remarkable study, progesterone given shortly after traumatic brain injury (TBI) appears to cut the risk of death by 50%. This is important because currently there is no good treatment that improves the outcome of TBI.

Furthermore, those patients given the progesterone had significantly less disability.
The treatment, importantly, was found to be safe, as no adverse side effects occurred.

The study, lead by Dr. David Wright out of Emory University, was published in the October 2006 issue of the Annals of Emergency Medicine.

A larger trial of 1000 patients is planned to try to confirm the benefits and safety.

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A recent study out of the New York University School of Medicine reveals that the drug Exelon (Rivastigmine) can improve memory in patients who have moderate-to-severe memory loss from traumatic brain injury.

Specifically, improvements were seen in measures of verbal memory and visual processing tasks.

Exelon is normally a drug used to treat memory impairment in patients with Alzheimer’s disease. Its mechanism of action is similar to Aricept (Donezepil) and Razadyne (Galantamine) in that it is thought to enhance cholinergic function in the brain.

The study, however, did not seem to support the effectiveness of Rivastigmine in patients with mild traumatic brain injury (TBI).

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