A US university is testing whether fresh frozen plasma can reduce secondary brain injury, the ongoing cell damage that unfolds hours to days after the initial impact.
TBI affects more than two million people in the US each year and can impair memory, speech, mood and balance.
Plasma is the liquid part of blood that carries cells and proteins. Researchers hope timely transfusion could shield vulnerable brain tissue.
Amelia Maiga is a trauma surgeon at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
She said: “We talk about the initial, the primary brain injury, which happens at the time of the accident.
“And then the secondary brain injury is the ongoing damage to the brain cells that can happen in the hours to days after the traumatic brain injury.”
She said current care mainly supports the body while the brain heals.
“We have no specific treatment for traumatic brain injury that targets the brain injury itself or that avoids or lessens that secondary brain injury.
“Giving plasma to patients with TBI appears to help their brain injury to recover faster and better.”
Animal studies suggest benefits when plasma is given within the first few hours, including protecting brain cells and reducing swelling.
If the study succeeds, it could mark a step forward in TBI treatment.
Maiga said: “It would be really positive to have something, whether it’s plasma or something else coming down the line, that we can give clinically that we know would help patients and we could return these patients to their families and their lives.”
Research shows that after a serious head injury, more than a quarter of patients die, and among survivors the mortality rate remains elevated for a long time.
Researchers at Vanderbilt and other major trauma centres hope this trial could lead to a targeted treatment that helps patients recover.
