Hospital testing new medication for brain trauma cases

It is perhaps known to all New Haven, Connecticut, residents that the most sensitive area of the human body is the uppermost part of the body, from the neck to the skull. Injuries to this region are not easy to diagnose, with many people continuing to suffer for a long time without the damage being detected, or some people even losing their lives from the inability or failure to diagnose and properly treat the injury. As per an estimate, head injuries are the biggest reason for the deaths of people aged 40 and under.

When a person suffers a brain injury, internal bleeding can occur, which is not only difficult to detect, but equally difficult to control or stop. So troublesome are these injuries that in cases where brain trauma is established, patients often have their skulls cut open so doctors can attempt to control the bleeding. Now, however, there may be a less cumbersome method available.

One hospital has begun efforts to test if a certain medication, thus far only utilized in battle zones as a means of curbing blood loss to injured soldiers, can do the same job for the brain. The medication, which can be administered even by paramedics, will mean that surgery is no longer required for stopping bleeding within the brain. The test will involve 60 patients, whose reactions to the medication will be analyzed over a time span of 14 months, beginning in September 2014.

At the moment, there is no guarantee that the medication will actually work. The brain is among the frailest and least understood organs. However, given that no methods have been devised thus far, any advance in this regard would be a most welcome one. In the event the medication proves successful, families of injury victims will no doubt find some sense of relief.

Source: CBS Minnesota, “New Brain Injury Medication To Be Tested In Minn.”, Kim Johnson, July 8, 2014