Testing a new treatment to improve brain recovery of comatose patients after cardiac arrest
Approximately half of all comatose patients after cardiac arrest die as a result of severe postanoxic encephalopathy and surviving patients are at risk of long term cognitive impairments. Effective treatments to promote brain recovery are unavailable. Ghrelin is a naturally occurring hormone (known as the ‘hunger hormone’) that provides mild stimulation of brain cells. Treatment with ghrelin consistently improved functional and histological recovery in animal models of postanoxic encephalopathy.
GRECO is a multicenter randomized controlled trial to assess the effect of ghrelin on functional recovery at six months of comatose patients after cardiac arrest. Secondary objectives include assessment of effects of ghrelin on EEG activity, blood glucose levels, (cognitive) outcome at one year, and safety. The trial protocol can be found here.
Team:
- Principal investigator: prof. dr. J. Hofmeijer (Univeristy of Twente and Rijnstate Hospital, The Netherlands)
- Trial coordinator & PhD student: drs. S. Nutma (Medisch Spectrum Twente)
Participating centers:
- Medisch Spectrum Twente (A. Beishuizen)
- UMC Groningen (W.M. van den Bergh)
- VieCuri (N. Foudraine)
Subsidy providers:
Brain outcome after cardiac arrest 