Neurosteroids in PTSD - Biomarkers to Therapeutics
Posttraumatic Stress DisorderThe purpose of this research is to determine if a study medication called Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) helps to reduce PTSD symptoms in OEF/OIF/OND Veterans. In addition to finding out if DHEA is effective for treating PTSD symptoms, this research seeks to determine if DHEA is effective in treating other symptoms, such as depression and anxiety. Depression and anxiety are symptoms that are frequently present in Veterans who are experiencing PTSD. Another purpose of this research is to takes pictures of the brain using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and blood levels of various small molecules including neurosteroids and also proteins, which may be affected by the study drug and/or related to symptoms in Veterans with PTSD. This study seeks to determine if DHEA is changed to other compounds after it is taken by mouth and the safety and effectiveness of DHEA in Veterans with PTSD. This is an "add-on" study and Veterans enrolled in the study will continue to take all of their current medications without any changes (also called "usual care"), and DHEA or a sugar pill (also called a "placebo") will then be added to their current medication regimen.
Lifestyle Intervention to Reduce Body Weight and Systemic Inflammation Among World Trade Center...
Post-Traumatic Stress DisorderOverweight and Obesity2 moreThe goal of this randomized control trial (RCT) is to test the feasibility and acceptability of a lifestyle intervention with a focus on implementing a high dose Mediterranean Diet protocol with physical activity to reduce systemic inflammation and body weight among WTC first responders having overweight/obesity and PTSD. The findings of this study will demonstrate the suitability of the proposed approach to reduce comorbidities among similar populations exposed to traumatic events; the findings will also inform the World Trade Center Health Program's extensive research and clinical efforts with the potential to provide a preventive care model to reduce systemic inflammation and related chronic disease among WTC responders with PTSD.
Iloperidone for Symptoms of Arousal in Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Post Traumatic Stress DisorderA Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Random Order Crossover Pilot Study of Iloperidone for Symptoms of Arousal in PTSD.
Exercise: A Novel Treatment for Combat Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Post-Traumatic Stress DisorderThe primary objective of this pilot intervention study is to examine the efficacy of exercise for reducing the symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other psychiatric and somatic symptoms. The sample will be composed of veterans aged 18-65 with combat-related PTSD (N = 40). Participants will be randomly assigned to one of two groups. Participants in the exercise training group (n = 20) will receive three 60-75 minute sessions per week of combination aerobic and resistance training for eight weeks. In the control stretching group, participants (n = 20) will receive training in whole-body flexibility three times per week for eight weeks. Secondary objectives include 1) determining feasibility of the intervention (as measured by the percentage of prescribed days of exercise completed by each participant, and percentage of time exercising completed at the prescribed intensity and duration); 2) determining the influence of exercise training on aerobic fitness and strength in the sample; and 3) determining whether psychiatric/somatic symptom improvements are associated with improvements in fitness and strength. Finally, exploratory objectives will include examining whether exercise training can improve early signs of heart disease, and whether certain biomarkers (using MRI and fMRI data and inflammatory markers) are associated with treatment response.
Emotional Memory Reactivation in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
Posttraumatic Stress DisorderConverging lines of evidence have implicated the amygdala in the pathophysiology of posttraumatic stress disorder. The primary purpose of our study is to assess the effect of propanolol, a beta adrenergic antagonism, on amygdala activation during a symptom provocation state in traumatized subjects with and without posttraumatic stress disorder.
Clinical Evaluation of BRL29060A (Paroxetine Hydrochloride Hydrate) in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder...
Post-Traumatic Stress DisorderStress Disorders1 moreThis is a single-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel group study to evaluate the efficacy of BRL29060A (paroxetine hydrochloride hydrate, hereafter paroxetine) administered orally over the dose range of 20 mg to 50 mg once daily after supper for 12 weeks in Japanese patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as assessed by the change from baseline in CAPS-SX total score. Also the effect of paroxetine on regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) induced by subthreshold emotional arousing (or symptom stimulating) tasks will be determined using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) for exploratory assessment of the correlation between the change in rCBF and the efficacy. The sample size is 30 subjects. The study period consists of 4 weeks of run-in phase, 12 weeks of treatment phase, 0-3 weeks of taper phase and follow-up examination at 2 weeks after the last dose, for a total of 18-21 weeks. Subjects will visit the clinic at the start of run-in phase, Week -2, the start of treatment phase, Weeks 2, 4, 6, 8 and 12 of treatment, and follow-up examination.
Development of a Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Population Registry for Veterans
Stress DisordersPost-TraumaticThe overall objective of this project is to develop the first longitudinal registry of combat-exposed men and women with PTSD. This registry will provide essential data on the natural history, including progression and remission, and outcomes associated with PTSD in military service men and women who have utilized the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care system. Additional goals of this project are to determine risk factors for PTSD among combat-exposed service men and women (by incorporating a combat-exposed non-PTSD group of veterans into analyses), and to assess the joint effects of combat exposure and PTSD on a broad range of outcome measures (by incorporating a non-combat-exposed group of veterans into analyses). Thus, the registry will allow an evaluation of current theoretical models of symptom development and progression in a large sample of service men and women who utilize the VA medical system. In addition to the PTSD registry, we will collect information on two comparison groups of OIF/OEF-era veterans to conduct nested case control studies within the general VA health care utilization database. First, a comparison group of combat veterans who are high utilizers of VA medical care, but who have not received a diagnosis of PTSD will be identified. This group will be used in analyses to identify risk factors for PTSD. Additionally, the rate of PTSD symptoms will be evaluated in this comparison group to estimate the prevalence of missed PTSD diagnoses among combat veterans with high rates of service utilization, and the resulting impact on utilization and outcomes. A second comparison group will consist of veterans with similar service record and demographic backgrounds, who were not deployed to the OIF/OEF war zones. Thus, the proposed project will create a PTSD registry from the VA database to assess the natural history and progression of PTSD in combat veterans from OIF/OEF and also to conduct case-control studies nested within the VA database. The case-control comparisons will be used to evaluate key hypotheses related to the specific aims of the overall project.
Effectiveness of Propranolol For Treating People With Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Post-Traumatic Stress DisorderThis study will evaluate the effectiveness of propranolol in reducing symptoms of distress in people with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Maintenance Phase Treatment With Divalproex for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
PTSDThe primary objective is to evaluate the long-term efficacy of divalproex sodium (Depakote) in the continuation treatment of PTSD.
Prazosin for Treating Noncombat Trauma Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Post-Traumatic Stress DisorderSleep Initiation and Maintenance DisordersThis study will evaluate the effectiveness of prazosin in treating post-traumatic stress disorder caused by noncombat trauma in individuals taking selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors.