New drug could drastically improve the survival rate among wounded soldiers.

Hasan Alam of Massachesetts General Hospital in Boston has conducted research on a new drug that prevents the body from going into shock after massive blood loss. When normal humans lose excessive amounts of blood their bodies go into shock, an emergency condition designed to raise blood pressure and conserve energy. The problem with this self-preservation mechanism is that it can become lethal if the person cannot receive adequate treatment quickly. It takes, on average, four hours to transport an injured soldier from the battlefield to medical care; many soldiers die during this time. In theory, a drug that could prevent a human from going into shock could significantly increase his or her odds of surviving the trip to medical care.

Alam's research into rats with massive blood loss has demonstrated that valproic acid may be the ideal drug for halting shock. Rats treated with valproic acid were better able to survive injuries and blood loss. Similar studies performed in pigs also showed promise. Pigs treated with valproic acid had triple the survival rate or pigs treated with saline after both groups had 60% of their blood drained.

Alam is currently testing the drug to see if it has any long term health effects. If none are found, he plans to request human trials.

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20527454.200-drug-could-turn-soldiers-into-supersurvivors.html