Doctors have long been searching for a way to treat brain injury. A new study at Temple explores whether a hormone we already have in the body can help prevent permanent disability. Nina Gentile of Temple's School of Medicine says that when the head is injured, the brain swells. Damaged cells die and healthy cells get squeezed and flooded with toxic byproducts. Pilot data has shown that progesterone can brain swelling to almost nothing while stimulating growth and repair. Gentile, who's leading the local trials, says that with more than a million brain injuries a year, there is a desperate need for new treatments. "If we can make even a small benefit for these people, it will be tremendous," she said.