Nurse practitioner, clinic owner, and founder of HRT University. I teach providers the physiology behind hormone therapy, so they’re not piecing it together on their own.
Is Progesterone the Missing Link in TBI Treatment?
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Have you ever considered using progesterone for TBI patients? We discussed this idea heavily during our annual HRTU conference last weekend. I spoke on the benefits of progesterone in men, and my colleague Jillian Martin (our lovely HRTU mentor) spoke on hormones in general for TBI. Now, before you jump ship on this email, I want to point out to you why this is so relevant to you. First and foremost, we all see patients with histories on TBIs. ALL THE TIME. In fact, its much more common than you think. A TBI isn't just a skull cracked-open and active brain-bleed. It can be a nasty bonk on the head concussion - even without a loss of consciousness. The problem Jillian so wonderfully pointed out, is that this history is rarely properly assessed for. We fail to dig deep on this, and patients rarely seem to understand just how relevant and critical it is. Now, why progesterone? Well, researchers in 2009* noted something interesting when it came to TBIs and neuroprotection. Females tend to recover better than males from TBIs. Interesting... So they tested this theory in rats. They basically injected "pregnancy" levels of progesterone in female rats and then bonked these poor rats on the head. They compared them to male rats who got bonked on the noggin too. And female rats produced less edema, fewer lesions, and less secondary neuronal loss than the male rats did. How is this possible?? Well, because progesterone is a wonder-hormone.
That's insane, right? If you invented a single drug that could positively promote all these things simultaneously... my gosh you'd be a millionaire. To-date, there are hundreds of failed TBI drugs. Why? Because they typically can only target a single aspect of healing. But progesterone is a fundamental and foundational hormone for human health, both in terms of development and protection. And the researchers conclude that progesterone likely holds a promising place as a safe and effective agent not only for TBIs, but a range of CNS issues. Amen. This is why I'm such a big proponent of using progesterone off-label. For women obviously. But for men too. My patients have had profound effects with progesterone use, and I think we can all be a part of this movement. Leaning into HRT, in my opinion, may be more powerful than we could possibly imagine. Hope this helps, -Nico PS Don't forget to tune into the latest HRT University Podcast Episode on postpartum psychosis. There's a disclaimer in the beginning of the episode as I touch on the facts from the recent Lindsey Clancy case. But I touch on what exactly PP psychosis is, how hormones play a part, and considerations for treating women during postpartum. *References: |
HRT University
Nurse practitioner, clinic owner, and founder of HRT University. I teach providers the physiology behind hormone therapy, so they’re not piecing it together on their own.
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