As reported in my earlier blog there are 4 basic categories for evaluating and accepting experimental medical treatments and/or procedures .They are; Testimonial, argumentative, correlation and the gold standard of the double blind experiment. Usually only those experiments or trials in the last 2 categories are approved . I pointed out that correlation does not always mean causation. Because of the difficulty in conducting medical research with drugs and /or surgical procedures those belonging to the second category have sometimes been granted approval . Examples of this argumentative category include the use of antioxidants for degenerative diseases where the pathogenesis is likely free radical pathology, Alzheimer's and vitamin D deficiency in the elderly, smoking and cancer. In my view the cardiovascular surgical procedures like coronary bypass surgery and stents for heart disease , as well as the prescribing of various cholesterol lowering drugs, probably should be included in this category since they did not have the gold standard experimental design before they were approved. For example there are individuals with normal cholesterol values who get heart attacks, and also those with markedly elevated cholesterol who don't. It would seem from a review of the pharmacological properties of hydergine (again review my argument in a earlier blog ), that there is good argumentative evidence that this drug might prevent concussions following head injuries .
Indeed this was the rationale for me sending emails, letters to editors, and postal letters to various sports and medical organizations who treat sports injuries including head injuries and concussions for them to prescribed a maintenance dose of hydergine based on this argumentative evidence. I was not asking them to consider doing a clinical trial Their replies that they were not conducting such experiments and/or did not plan to undergo such trials and the reported incidence of concussions showed that they may have missed the boat.
Imagine none of their replies mentioned that they were conducting such trials or even plan to undertake such studies with hydergine- a drug that once was the 5th most prescribed drug in Europe!. I might add that although a recent TV reporter stated that 30 professional hockey players are currently on the sidelines because of concussions( besides Sidney Crosby ), another reported that the incidence of concussions among young sports players may be over 30,000!
Because the signs and symptoms of concussions seem to occur within the first few minutes after a head injury- I base this while observing sports on TV and they lie on the ice and/or football field immediately after the head injury - also suggests that any drug trial should commence within that time frame, hence the rationale for a maintenance dose. I have suggested in an earlier blog with CPR that patients suffering a cardiac arrest and/or a stroke be given an vascular (arterial ) injection of hydergine.
None of these replies and/or the absence of comments on my relevant blogs or to my proposed paradigm shift in the treatment of concussions. and head injuries has left me depressed and somewhat discouraged .
One medical educator stated " medical knowledge doubles every 5 years", while another stated that every year 5% of our medical knowledge becomes obsolete and/or irrelevant. That means that in 5 years about one fifth of how we practice medicine is not only irrelevant but may even be harmful. For this reason doctors have to continue to upgrade their medical knowledge. I wonder how many really do and are missing the boat?
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