Active clinical trials for "Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic"

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between trauma and startle. The investigators are also looking at the effect of menstrual phase on this relationship.

Little is known about the long-term health and mental health status of women Vietnam veterans. For many of these women, the effects of this war are still present in their daily lives. As these women approach their mid-sixties, it is important to understand the impact of wartime deployment on health and mental health outcomes nearly 40 years later. The investigators propose to assess the prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other mental and physical health conditions for women Vietnam veterans, and to explore the relationship between PTSD and other conditions and the Vietnam deployment experience. The investigators are interested in studying women Vietnam veterans who may have had direct exposure to traumatic events. For the first time, the investigators also want to study those who served in facilities near Vietnam. These women may have had similar, but less direct exposures. This cross-sectional study will seek to contact approximately 10,000 women for participation in a mailed survey, telephone interview and a review of their medical records. Women identified as serving in Vietnam, near Vietnam (in Asia during the Vietnam Ware) and in the U.S. during the Vietnam War will be identified from an established cohort and sent a survey on demographics, behaviors, disability, health-related quality of life, and medical conditions. Women agreeing to be contacted will also be interviewed by study investigators using the modified CIDI to ascertain current and lifetime mental health conditions (including PTSD) and exposure to traumatic events. A more extensive chart review will be conducted by a clinician to validate self-report of key medical conditions.

This study will examine the role of substance P, a chemical messenger in the brain, in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a chronic anxiety disorder. PTSD can develop after exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal, such as a violent personal assault, natural or human-caused disaster, accident, or military combat. Substance P is a peptide that may be important in the response to certain psychiatric and neurological diseases and conditions, including anxiety. Healthy normal volunteers and people with PTSD who are between 18 and 65 years of age may be eligible for this study. Candidates are screened with a physical examination, blood and urine tests, pregnancy test for women who can become pregnant, and a neuropsychological evaluation. Participants undergo positron emission tomography (PET) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanning. An optional lumbar puncture (spinal tap) is also requested. PET Scanning PET uses small amounts of a radioactive chemical called a tracer that "labels" active areas of the brain. The tracer used in this study is [18F]SPA-RQ. For the procedure, the subject lies still on the scanner bed. A special mask is fitted to the head to help keep the subject's head still during the scan so the images will be clear. A 20-minute "transmission" scan is done before the radioactive tracer is injected to provide measures of the brain that will help in the precise calculation of information from subsequent scans. After the tracer is injected through a needle in the arm, pictures are taken continuously for about 2 hours. Then, 20- to 40-minute images are taken every hour until about 5 hours after the injection. MRI Scanning An MRI scan is scheduled at some time within 1 year of the PET scan. MRI uses a magnetic field and radio waves to obtain images of body tissues and organs. The subject lies still on a table inside the tunnel-like MRI scanner. Earplugs are worn to muffle loud noises that occur during the scanning. The maximum duration of the scan is 60 minutes. Lumbar Puncture Lumbar puncture is used to examine the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) that surrounds both the brain and the spinal cord. For this procedure, a local anesthetic is given to numb the skin in the lower back area. A small needle is then inserted into the space between the bones in the lower back where the CSF circulates below the spinal cord. A small amount of fluid is collected through the needle. Blood Draw A blood sample is collected to generate cell lines that can be used to extract DNA (genetic material) for gene studies and that can be frozen for future use.

The purpose of this study is to determine whether people who develop Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) after a trauma have increased sensitivity to the effects of a stress hormone. Patients with PTSD have small hippocampal volume and deficits in hippocampal-mediated memory as compared to healthy people. However, it is unclear whether the smaller hippocampi are a consequence of PTSD or a risk factor for the development of PTSD. Some researchers believe that people who develop PTSD have an increase in cortisol levels during traumatic experiences and that this could be neurotoxic to the hippocampus. Others hypothesize that increased sensitivity of glucocorticoid receptors to cortisol, regardless of the cortisol levels, could lead to neurotoxic damage to the hippocampus. This study will compare responses to a stress hormone in patients with PTSD, participants who have experienced trauma but do not have PTSD, and healthy volunteers. Participants will be screened with a medical and psychiatric interview, physical examination, blood tests, electrocardiogram, and an emotional intelligence evaluation. Those eligible for the study will be asked to collect urine and saliva samples for 3 days. Participation will also include blood draws, a PET scan (brain imaging), an eye-blink test, neuropsychological testing, and other procedures. At another study visit, participants will undergo a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan (brain imaging), questionnaires, and other procedures.

After trauma or stress factor like death exposition, serious injuries or sexual violence, some patients may develop stress reaction characterized by the presence of various symptoms among different categories (reviviscence, negative humor, dissociates symptoms, occasion, hypervigilance). In the month following trauma, the investigators speak of acute stress reaction (ASR) when symptoms are present during at least three days. If symptoms are present one month after trauma, then it is a post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Among patients visiting emergency after latest trauma, quite a few is in acute stress reaction. However, this reaction is often incorrectly identified by healthcare team, due to lack of oriented medical examination, patients visiting about other complaints (pain, insomnia) and not expressing clearly the trauma context. Yet, it is know that acute stress reaction occurrence and existence of dissociate symptoms after trauma confrontation is considerably predictive of the eventual post-traumatic stress disorder occurrence. The identification of risk population of post-traumatic stress disorder is not the subject of any particular structured procedure in emergency services while early care of these patients may allow limiting post-traumatic stress disorder occurrence and associate consequences. Previous works on the subject having exclusively targeted some trauma subgroups or some predictive factors subtypes, investigators propose here biopsychosocial global approach that can weight the impact of each parameters. In this study, investigators aim at determining predictive biopsychosocial factors of the post-traumatic stress disorder occurrence at 3 months in patients visiting emergency after latest trauma (less than one month old) and identified as "high-risk" to develop post-traumatic stress disorder (moderate or high).

This research study is designed to investigate the use of a simple cognitive task (a memory cue and 10 minute time gap, followed by playing the computer game "Tetris") for decreasing the number of intrusive memories of trauma among young refugees and asylum seekers. The design is a single case experimental AB design with or without optional replication (ABAB). Participants will aim to complete a no-intervention phase ('A': baseline phase) of one week followed by a one-week intervention phase ('B'), including a one-session intervention with a researcher comprising the simple cognitive task, followed by instructions to continue to use the technique self-guided in the subsequent week. Follow ups are conducted after each week to monitor the occurrence of intrusive memories of trauma in a pen-and-paper diary. It is predicted that participants will report fewer intrusive memories during the intervention phase than during the preceding baseline phase.

The FOCUS program (study treatment) is an established evidence-based intervention whose redesign for families and couples dealing with serious and chronic illnesses will provide a creative and promising supplement to the existing support services at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. All participants will receive the 10-weeks of 75-minute weekly study treatment, but will be split into two groups, the immediate treatment group and the wait list treatment group, who will receive the study treatment after the immediate 10 weeks of treatment is completed.

Emerging evidence indicates that SARS-CoV-2, the etiologic agent of COVID-19, can cause neurological, neuropsychological and psychiatric complications. Given the global dimensions of the current pandemic, there is to consider the possible large-scale neurocognitive impact of COVID-19. Therefore, there is an urgent need for longitudinal studies to determine the acute and chronic effects that COVID-19 may have on the Central Nervous System. These putative effects include the possibility that the CNS serves as a reservoir for the virus, and that COVID-19 triggers CNS deleterious inflammatory cascades and neurodegenerative process. The public implications of these effects are very important in the long term.

The elements that promote the development of post-traumatic stress in parents following hospitalization in pediatric resuscitation and thus the options for improving initial care at the time of hospitalization are unknown. It is therefore important to describe the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder with current pediatric resuscitation management data, but also to possibly describe the factors associated with it in order to optimize initial management.

Using a retrospective review of records, we will conduct a multivariate analysis to examine the relationship between exposure to ketamine, as an analgesic agent in combat related trauma care, the use of additional opioid pain medications, and patient reported pain levels.