Humble yam new weapon in treatment of brain injuries

Yams produce progesterone, which is proving effective in improving brain function. Photo / Brett Phibbs

It's a humble vegetable, but within it lies a resource that is helping save lives and may revolutionise the treatment of brain injury.

The yam naturally produces progesterone - a hormone also produced in the female body.

Research on progesterone has found it is highly effective in improving the survival rate among victims of serious brain injury caused by external damage, and improving the brain functioning of sufferers.

Dr Donald Stein, a neuroscientist from the United States' Emory University School of Medicine, is visiting Canterbury University for six weeks and discussing the progesterone research he has led.

It is being tested in advanced trials involving thousands of people around the world.

The 71-year-old is hopeful that within his lifetime progesterone will be a standard method of treating brain injury.

"Progesterone has been around for a long time. It's been known. It's just that it's been too good to be true," Dr Stein said.

"I don't think this is something that necessarily has to take another 25 years to get out. Because if this works, it's dirt cheap, it's easy to administer, it's safe to give, it doesn't require any high technology."

Dr Stein began his work by following up anecdotal reports that women, who produce different levels of progesterone depending on their menstrual cycles, had better recovery from brain injury than men.

"So we just hammered away at it until we figured out what was going on."

In progesterone trials so far, the effect on 269 patients has been analysed, 73 per cent of whom were rated as "severely brain injured".

The expected death rate was reduced by almost 60 per cent, and brain functioning for those after 30 days survival had improved more than 50 per cent compared to standard care, Dr Stein said. No negative effects had been detected in patients.

"It's hard to say that every single patient will show the same 100 per cent improvement. But I think what you can expect is hopefully more independence, better ability to function - perhaps to return to work, perhaps to be able to have a normal family life, to be able to go back to school."

Dr Stein said the progesterone used in the trials was being extracted from certain types of yam. "It is amazing when you stop and think about it. That something as ugly as a yam [could be so valuable]."

The next target of progesterone treatment is on the effects of a stroke.

Brain Damage

This week is Brain Awareness Week.

The Brain Injury Association says 90 New Zealanders suffer a brain injury every day, from events such as:

* Head trauma.

* Strokes and aneurysms.

* Infections such as meningitis.

* Brain tumours.

* The effects of substances such as drugs and alcohol.