A DRUG aimed at preventing and treating concussion-related brain damage linked to suicides in sports players will be tested on humans, in South Australia, for the first time.

Melbourne-based firm Pressura Neuro has created a compound to treat a dementia like degenerative disease linked to repeated concussions and even stop the condition, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, from developing.

CTE, which can only be definitively diagnosed through autopsy, has been found in the brains of dozens of retired American footballers who have donated their brains to science and has been linked to the suicides of players suffering from concussion-related depression.

Symptoms of CTE generally emerge 10-15 years after repetitive brain injury and include memory loss, tremors, vertigo, erratic behaviour and suicidal thoughts.

The drug, which has been in development for three years, has cleared animal trials and will be tested on healthy humans from October at CMAX laboratories in Adelaide.

Trials on those with brain injuries are expected to begin next year.

Pressura Neuro chairman Peter Pursey said the drug, which has cost $10 million so far to develop, would have two functions — the immediate treatment of concussive symptoms following injury and treating CTE.

“CTE manifests itself like a mild dementia,” he said. “There are a couple of well known sportsmen who have got symptoms of this condition, one being Brownlow medallist (Carlton’s) Greg Williams.”

Williams revealed in 2013 that he was suffering memory loss and mood swings, symptoms connected to repeated blows he suffered on the footy field.

The drug stops a protein forming in the brain that leads to neurofibrillary tangles — twisted fibres around the brain cells — and ultimately CTE.

“These tangles are actually microscopic if you accumulate enough of these it stops the nerve signals going around the brain,” Mr Pursey said.

He hoped the drug would be used by sports clubs as another tool in their “kit bag” to manage concussion.

“So for example you’re playing for Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval, you come off the field, the doctor diagnoses you with concussion and the doctor would then prescribe you to take a course of our medication; it’s as simple as that,” he said.

“We expect that it will improve the issues associated with cognitive impairment, such as headaches, nausea, sleeplessness and difficulty concentrating.”

The drug would also have applications in the military and be administered to soldiers shortly after a blast injury to prevent potential long-term brain damage.