Head Injury Center

The National Institute of Health (NIH) is funding a research for testing the hormone progerstone for its ability to treat mild to severe traumatic brain injuries. Geisinger Medical Center (GMC) is all set to be a part of this research study which can prove to be beneficial for head injury patients. The Director of Neurosurgery at Geisinger health system, Dr. Steven A. Toms, said that their participation in the research

has given them a good opportunity for discovering a potential treatment for TBI.

Traumatic Brain Injury is a growing concern all over the United States. Even the recent statistics are the evidence for this major health issue. Annually, 2 million US citizens are diagnosed for head injury out of which 50,000 people die and 80,000 are disabled. Since the last 30 years, there has been no major breakthrough in finding a solution for TBI treatment. The progerstone hormone appears to be promising as a treatment for head injuries. Studies have found that progerstone is present in minute quantities in the human brain. A protective shield is provided by this hormone to the damaged tissues of the brain. The research study that will be conducted is named as ProTECT III and is in its third phase. The previous trials of progerstone treatment had witnessed a reduction in number of deaths due to TBI by as much as 50 percent.

The third phase of this trial is planned to be conducted at 17 centers in fifteen states across the country in which 1140 TBI patients will be treated with progerstone. The previous phases were successful but were conducted on a smaller scale whereas ProTECT III will be a large scale project and hopefully will confirm the results found earlier. In this extensive research study which will last for 5 years, neurosurgery doctors, trauma specialists, psychiatrists and physicians from the emergency and critical care department of Geisinger will be involved.

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Geisinger Medical Center will be part of the third phase of Progerstone trial