Progesterone has been shown to be a very effective neuro-protective. A doctor at Emory U is trying to patent the use of progesterone for TBI and mTBI.

I wonder if the Swedish company whose link you noted, has tried to mimic the effect progesterone has as a neuro-protective. Sometimes, the drug developers try to patent a drug that just causes a natural substance to be increased in the body/brain. They can't patent the natural substance but they can patent a drug that causes the natural substance to be increased or better utilized. Patented womens hormones are a great example.

I am wondering about the efficacy of SSRI's for mTBI/concussion. There is a lot of concern about the impact SSRI's have on an injured brain.

Many PCS subjects are not taught/told how to reduce the stress and anxiety in their post concussion lives. They are also frequently told that they should not be experiencing such levels of symptoms from such a mild impact. Not only is low stress/anxiety important during the immediate recovery phase, but also for life thereafter. Very old research (1970's) shows that stress to the brain will cause a return of concussion symptoms. This includes those who thought they were recovered to 100 percent.

I am caught in the catch-22 of needing a max dose of paroxetine. I am concerned that it is also limiting the recovery of my brain. The question is simple. Does the benefits of an SSRI outweigh the negatives of it?

The study you linked appears to relate to much more severe brain trauma that that impacting people on this forum. The list of drugs used for a patient who is hospitalized is long and varied. It is almost as if many of the drugs are to treat the side-effects of the other drugs.

I wholeheartedly agree that the research shows that lowering stress to the brain is very important. The toxins that accumulate due to the emotional, and physical stresses to the brain will undo or prevent some or all of the recovery. I learned this almost 30 years ago when my doctor put me on a serious nutritional regimen. It improved my function in great fashion within just eight weeks.

That is why I keep harping on nutrition as an integral part of mTBI recovery and long term success.

My concern about SSRI's and other strong psychotropic meds is about how they alter the function of neurotransmitters. The evidence about the difficulties withdrawing from a long term use of SSRI's tends to suggest a change in how the brain functions. It is almost like the brain has to recover from the SSRI. It only takes the brain two to six weeks to get the full value of the SSRI but it can take twelve weeks or more to get the brain to accept the absence of the SSRI. In the mean time, the patient is often miserable.

btw, I could not access the text or even an abstract of the article you mentioned.