Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39445445›Full record

Trial reportEuropean heart journal. Acute cardiovascular care2025

Ghrelin for neuroprotection in post-cardiac arrest coma: a 1-year follow-up of cognitive and psychosocial outcomes.

Pauline van Gils, Sjoukje Nutma, Karen Meeske, Caroline van Heugten, Walter van den Bergh, Norbert Foudraine, Joost le Feber, Margreet Filius, Michel van Putten, Bert Beishuizen and 2 more

Abstract readRandomized Controlled TrialMulticenter StudyClinical Trial, Phase II
In one paragraph

Trial report in European heart journal. Acute cardiovascular care, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors.

Pauline van GilsDepartment of Clinical Neurophysiology, Technical Medical Center, University of Twente, Drienerlolaan 5, 7522 NB Enschede, The Netherlands.ORCID 0000-0002-2959-4418
Sjoukje NutmaDepartment of Clinical Neurophysiology, Technical Medical Center, University of Twente, Drienerlolaan 5, 7522 NB Enschede, The Netherlands.
Karen MeeskeDepartment of Medical Psychology, Medisch Spectrum Twente, Koningstraat 1, 7512 KZ Enschede, The Netherlands.
Caroline van HeugtenLimburg Brain Injury Center, Maastricht University, Universiteitssingel 40, 6229 ER Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Walter van den BerghDepartment of Critical Care, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Hanzeplein 1, 9713 GZ Groningen, The Netherlands.
Norbert FoudraineDepartment of Critical Care, VieCuri Medical Center, Tegelseweg 210, 5912 BL Venlo, The Netherlands.
Joost le FeberDepartment of Clinical Neurophysiology, Technical Medical Center, University of Twente, Drienerlolaan 5, 7522 NB Enschede, The Netherlands.
Margreet FiliusDepartment of Clinical Pharmacy, Rijnstate Hospital, Wagnerlaan 55, 6815 AD Arnhem, The Netherlands.
Michel van PuttenDepartment of Clinical Neurophysiology, Technical Medical Center, University of Twente, Drienerlolaan 5, 7522 NB Enschede, The Netherlands.
Bert BeishuizenDepartment of Critical Care, Medisch Spectrum Twente, Koningstraat 1, 7512 KZ Enschede, The Netherlands.
Jeannette HofmeijerDepartment of Clinical Neurophysiology, Technical Medical Center, University of Twente, Drienerlolaan 5, 7522 NB Enschede, The Netherlands.
GRECO investigators

Funding

Dutch Heart Foundation 2018T070Dutch Research Council ZonMw 95105001
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

aimsEffective treatments to improve brain recovery after cardiac arrest are needed. Ghrelin showed efficacy in experimental models and was associated with lower neuron-specific enolase levels in the clinical Ghrelin in Coma (GRECO) trial. Here, we present cognitive and psychosocial outcomes at 1-year follow-up. METHODS AND

resultsGRECO was a Phase 2 multicentre, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial in comatose patients after cardiac arrest. The intervention was intravenous acyl-ghrelin 600 μg twice daily or placebo for 1 week, starting within 12 h after the arrest. Patients were assessed after 1 year using cognitive tests and questionnaires measuring participation, health-related quality of life, mood, and caregiver strain. Composite z-scores of the cognitive tests were computed by comparing the scores with those of a norm population and averaging the tests for memory, attention, and executive functioning separately. Groups were compared based on composite z-scores and cut-off scores for psychosocial outcomes. Of the 160 participants originally included, 66 of the 85 participants who survived to 1 year after OHCA completed the psychosocial and cognitive follow-up. The intervention group scored numerically higher across the cognitive domains compared with the control group, but the differences were not statistically significant (memory median = -0.850 vs. -1.385, U = 424.5, P = 0.587; attention median = -0.733 vs. -0.717, U = 420.5, P = 0.548; and executive functioning median = -0.311 vs. -0.482, U = 408.5, P = 0.323). There were significantly fewer signs of depression in the intervention group (U = 322.5, P = 0.014).

conclusionThis predefined secondary analysis found that ghrelin treatment was associated with non-significantly but consistently better cognitive outcomes and significantly fewer signs of depression. This is in line with the primary outcomes. CLINICAL

trial registrationClinicaltrialsregister.eu: EUCTR2018-000005-23-NL.

Indexed as

CognitionComaGhrelinHeart ArrestNeuroprotective AgentsOut-of-Hospital Cardiac ArrestAgedDouble-Blind MethodFemaleFollow-Up StudiesHumansMaleMiddle AgedQuality of LifeTime FactorsTreatment OutcomeGhrelinNeuroprotective AgentsAcyl-ghrelinCardiac arrestCognitive outcomeNeuroprotectionPsychosocial outcomes

Identifiers

PMID39445445
PMCPMC11783279

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.