Neurologists, other medical professionals especially sport doctors and therapists, and sports announcers among others, regularily gather for seminars and/or conventions to discuss concussions. Recently (on 06th Dec 2016) on a national evening TV program I viewed a seminar chaired by our Governor General a victim himself of concussions with 2 speakers Ken Dryden and Eric Lindros,- also victims of concussions. Although this presentation seem to provide valuable information on the incidence and long term effect of concussions they seemed to do little for finding a cause and/or a cure judging from the finding that both the incidence and costs for concussions continue to rise. The management of concussions still remain basically symptomatic with the affected individuals often making the final decision themselves as to when they are considered fit to return to their professional sport.
In an earlier post I outlined there are 4 levels of scientific proof categories for doing medical research. These are testimonial, argumentative, correlational and scientific -the latter being the accepted gold standard or double blind random study. In my opinion meetings and/or programs outlined above seem to only provide testimonial evidence. What is needed is more scientific based research- the 4th category or the gold standard. In 1998 The Life Extension Foundation published a pocket book entitled “The Physician’s Guide to Life Extension Drugs”. In this 268 pocket book, 14 pages were devoted to hydergine- In this section the authors mention that in many European countries (at least in the 1980 period) hydergine was used for emergencies with claims of reviving accident victims who were thought dead from heart attacks, drowning, and drug overdose! Many Hospitals in Europe routinely give hydergine to many patients before operations( Pearson and Shaw entitled Life Extension: A Practical Scientific Approach).Other effects of hydergine include increasing blood supply and amount of oxygen delivered to the brain resulting in enhancing metabolism of brain cells. Three other major effects of hydergine on the brain include protecting the brain from periods of insufficient oxygen supply (The Cat experiment), the prevention of free radical damage, and also the ability to increase memory, intelligence, learning and recall- the latter being the rationale for its use for treating senile dementia which is why hydergine is often labeled the smart drug. Incidentally hydergine was once the 5th most prescribed drug in Europe. What I have just described are the rationale for treatment of concussions with hydergine based on these argumentative and/or correlational observations and/or associations. We all know that in medicine before a drug can be prescribed as a treatment it must pass the gold standard test ,i.e. the 4th category of scientific proof- the highest level.. But here is the dilemma. Since we cannot predict who is likely to suffer a concussion following a head injury, and furthermore since the symptoms themselves are slow to appear whereas the damage to the brain may actually occur within minutes after the injury like in strokes and/or heart attacks, would it not be prudent to give the athlete prophylactically a drug like hydergine before they go on the playing field or an intravenous injection immediately following their head injury? Some time ago I posted such a post in my blog (docsamBlog). I have also sent emails to several professional hockey and football clubs suggesting that since they cannot predict who is likely to sustain a head injury and concussions, why not give them hydergine just like the surgeons in Europe were doing,i.e.before the scheduled games begin? I have also discussed this potential protocol with many of my medical colleagues. It seems this medical idea and others like the many paradigm shifts suggested for medical practice that I have presented at several meetings, reversing the aging process and many other ideas , have fallen on deaf ears.
Just a footnote for the reader to consider: Remember that Dr.Jenner and others who developed a vaccine for smallpox introduced this ” vaccination ” form of protection before they knew that smallpox was caused by a virus, Dr. Lind prescribed limes for those “adventurous & pirate sailors ” on their long sea journeys before we knew the role of vitamins (vitamin C) in nutrition- treatment of scurvy.
Posted 7th December 2016 by Dr. Semeon B. Hrushovetz
Labels: cat experiment concussions docSamBlog Eric Lindros Govenor General hydergine jenner and smallpox vaccination Ken Dryden life extension foundation categories of scientific proof neurologists
