Can This Natural Hormone Actually Heal Brain Injuries & Strokes?

[Guest guest]

Can This Natural Hormone Actually Heal Brain Injuries & Strokes?

_http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/12/26/This-Natural-

Hormone-Can-Help-Heal-Your-Brain-Injury.aspx_

(http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/12/26/This-Natural-Horm\

one-Can-Help-Heal-Your-Bra

in-Injury.aspx)

 

 

Why do some females recover from brain injury much faster and more

completely than males?

 

 

The answer may have far-reaching implications for the treatment of

traumatic brain injury, stroke, and other neurological disorders.

 

 

Neuroscientist Dr. Donald G. Stein and his colleagues have been

investigating this question and have discovered something remarkable -- that

the

hormone progesterone confers profound neuroprotective effects that improve

outcomes and reduce mortality following brain injuries.

 

 

Progesterone provides powerful neuroprotection to the fetus, particularly

in late pregnancy, when it helps suppress neuronal excitation that can

damage delicate new brain tissue. Dr. Stein and his colleagues have found that

in addition to protecting the fetal brain, progesterone also protects and

heals injured brain tissue.

 

 

Sources

_Life Extension Magazine November 2009_

(http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag2009/nov2009_Progesterone-May-Improve-Outcomes-F\

rom-Brain-Injury_01.htm)

 

 

Dr Mercola's Comments:

 

 

This is exciting news that could make a major difference in the lives of

those who might otherwise be chronically disabled from traumatic brain

injury, including stroke. As a natural therapy, it could prove to be both

effective and safe.

 

 

After 25 years of investigation, neuroscientist Donald G. Stein, PhD and

his colleagues have discovered that the female hormone progesterone offers

profound neuroprotective effects that improve outcomes and reduce mortality

following brain injuries. It may also help those suffering from central

nervous system damage, strokes, spinal cord injuries, and multiple sclerosis.

 

 

The Remarkable Neuroprotective Effects of Progesterone

 

 

During pregnancy, a woman’s progesterone levels rise, which offers

powerful neuroprotection to the fetus by suppressing neuronal excitation that

might otherwise damage the baby’s developing brain tissue.

 

 

However, it appears progesterone can have a similar effect on injured

brain tissue, and better yet, can help it heal.

 

 

The most obvious benefit is its ability to reduce cerebral edema (brain

swelling). But progesterone also appears to help brain injuries by affecting

a number of different injury mechanisms:

 

-- In response to injury, glial cells, which are critical to normal brain

function, release protein-like compounds known as inflammatory cytokines.

This triggers inflammation, which leads to edema, which in turn causes the

entire brain to swell and function abnormally. Progesterone dramatically

reduces the expression of the genes that trigger cells to release these

inflammatory cytokines

 

-- Progesterone also relieves edema through its effects on water channel

proteins called aquaporins. Progesterone decreases aquaporin activity in the

injured brain tissue, while enhancing aquaporin activity in the walls of

the cerebral ventricles. This may help drain excess fluid from the region of

the injury

 

-- It also upregulates the expression of genes that inhibit programmed

cell death (apoptosis), which prevents the death of injured brain cells

 

-- Progesterone may also have protective and regenerative effects on

myelin, the protective coating along your nerve fibers, which may help treat

diseases like multiple sclerosis

 

-- It controls excitotoxicity in your brain, which can lessen the seizures

that may accompany a brain injury

 

 

Another exciting benefit is that the progesterone injections appear

effective in reducing brain swelling and functional impairment even if the

treatment is delayed up to 24 hours after injury.

 

 

This is good news, considering the fact that many brain injuries may not

receive treatment until several hours after it occurred, depending on the

circumstances.

 

 

Dr. Stein says,

“There are now about 100 papers showing evidence of the efficacy of

progesterone that I think even all those doubtful people are beginning to think

that maybe we ought to give this treatment a try.â€

 

 

Results from Human Trials

 

 

In a clinical trial known as ProTECT II, one hundred patients with

moderate to severe traumatic brain injury were randomly assigned to receive

standard treatment for head injury, or identical standard treatment plus three

days of intravenous progesterone.

 

 

The levels of progesterone administered equated to about triple the

natural levels seen at the end of pregnancy.

 

 

Normally, the average mortality rate for the types of severe brain injury

seen in participants of this study is about 30-33 percent, with

conventional treatment.

 

 

However, the group treated with progesterone had a mortality rate of only

13 percent – a more than 50 percent reduction in mortality rate compared to

those receiving standard treatment!

 

 

A Note on Progesterone Delivery Methods

 

 

As for administering progesterone, you need to know that some delivery

methods _http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpQJ-FNlRyk_

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpQJ-FNlRyk) are clearly superior to others.

 

 

Oral supplementation is perhaps your worst option, as your liver processes

everything in your digestive tract first, before it enters your blood

stream. Any method that bypasses the liver will therefore be more effective.

 

 

Progesterone cream is one common alternative that achieves this. However,

since progesterone is fat soluble, it can build up in your fatty tissues

and lead to having too much progesterone in your body. This in turn can

disrupt other hormones such as DHEA, cortisol, and testosterone. It’s also

near

impossible to accurately determine the dose when using a cream.

 

 

What I have noticed is that many women do really well when they initially

go on the progesterone cream but after a few months that start to

deteriorate again. This is most likely related to the deposition in fat stores.

 

 

Sublingual drops offer the best of both worlds, as it enters your blood

stream directly and will not build up in your tissues like the cream can. It’

s also much easier to determine the dose you’re taking, as each drop is

about one milligram.

 

 

So you know exactly how much you’re taking. The direct delivery system

also means you can oftentimes take a lower dose than you would need if you

were taking it in pill form.

 

 

Most any compounding pharmacist can readily make this for you.

 

 

Special Note

 

Severe brain injuries will of course need professional medical treatment,

but the potential for using progesterone as a natural treatment for other

health issues aside from menopausal problems is there. For example,

progesterone has also been found to be beneficial for prostate cancer.

 

 

I certainly cannot make any recommendations for these uses, however it is

something you could discuss further with your physician.