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Some data have suggested that free-radical scavengers alleviate secondary damage to brain tissue around the site of injury in head trauma. This randomized, multicenter U.S. trial studied the effect of pegorgotein, a scavenger of oxygen-derived free radicals, in 463 patients with severe closed-head injury and poor neurological function as measured with the Glasgow Coma Scale.
Patients were randomized to receive one of two different doses of pegorgotein or placebo within 8 hours of injury and were evaluated at 3 and 6 months. There were no significant differences in neurologic outcome among the three groups, although the group receiving lower-dose pegorgotein experienced significantly less adult respiratory distress syndrome. In all three grou…