A Phase 2 Trial of Ghrelin for Neuroprotection in Post–Cardiac Arrest Coma

Withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment due to perceived poor neurological prognosis is the major cause of mortality in survivors of cardiac arrest, so improving neuroprotective strategies for this condition is vitally important. Unfortunately, numerous well-controlled trials have failed to identify a medication capable of providing such neuroprotection. Ghrelin, a hormone that is important for mediating hunger signals and may also reduce neuronal apoptosis, has shown promise in animal models of cerebral ischemia but has not yet been tested in human cardiac-arrest survivors. In this investigator-initiated, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 2 trial, 160 patients were randomized 1:1 within 12 hours after return of spontaneous circulatio…