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

The current pilot project will evaluate the efficacy of adding Written Exposure Therapy (WET) to a course of repeated IV ketamine infusions in improving PTSD symptoms and maintaining symptom improvement in patients with chronic PTSD. WET is a brief, 5-session evidence-based written trauma-focused therapy without in between-session assignments, with demonstrated efficacy and low dropout rates in patients with PTSD. WET will be administered to all eligible participants; the first WET sessions will be interleaved with the last two ketamine infusions to take advantage of a window of increased neuroplasticity potentially induced by repeated ketamine infusions. WET will be administered on different days as the ketamine infusions.

The overall objective of the proposed study is to determine if lofexidine (LFX) as an adjunct to buprenorphine (BUP) treatment improves symptoms of both opioid use disorder (OUD) and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Other study objectives are to compare the safety, tolerability, and efficacy of BUP treatment alone, to BUP treatment with adjunct LFX, on measures of OUD and PTSD symptoms in Veterans with both prognosis .

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) refractory to treatment is marked by failure of fear extinction and its biological substrate, amygdala reactivity to trauma reminders. Decades of research have clarified the neuronal mechanisms coordinating fear extinction and consolidation. Fear cells and extinction cells in the basolateral amygdala (BLA) alter their firing rate based on the nature of the stimulus and the influence from the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and the ventral hippocampus (vHPC). Together, the BLA, mPFC, and the vHPC form an anxiety-processing network where the BLA links stimulus to emotion, the vHPC provides memory context, and the mPFC coordinates extinction or consolidation. Local field potential (LFP) recordings from the BLA have revealed specific signals that correspond to an enhanced fear state. Previous studies have shown that neuromodulation of the BLA can promote extinction in a rodent model and in a treatment-refractory PTSD patient. This action is likely carried by disrupting fear signals within the BLA; however, continuous neurostimulation may also disrupt normal function of the amygdala. The present application proposes to investigate the use of Responsive Neurostimulation (RNS, Neuropace) in six (6) veterans suffering from severe treatment-resistant PTSD. This dual-activity device will allow us to chronically record LFPs from the BLA under specific conditions such as fear conditioning, exposure to trauma reminders, and emotional memory encoding and retrieval. In addition, the neural activity will be captured during real-life symptoms of flashback and nightmares. These recordings will provide the specific electrophysiological biomarkers of hypervigilance and re-experiencing. The device will then be programmed to detect and treat these biomarkers with a pre-determined electrical pulse. The patients will be followed prospectively using psychological scales but also with functional neuroimaging and electroencephalograms. These modalities will be used to determine the extent of circuit engagement as a result of the therapy. By approaching PTSD from a fear processing mechanism perspective, our project will serve as a proof of concept for other circuit-based therapies in psychiatry. This proposal is a multi-departmental effort involving 11 investigators across 7 departments and requires a close collaboration between clinical and basic scientists. As a result, the findings underlying chronic recordings will bridge the basic science results from fear conditioning research to clinical neural processes in PTSD patients.

This is a double-blind, 2-group randomized controlled trial evaluating the effects of topiramate versus placebo in patients with comorbid PTSD and moderate-to-severe AUD. This trial will provide one of the first rigorous tests of whether the effects of topiramate in AUD generalize to patients with co-occurring PTSD, and one of the first rigorous tests of whether topiramate has beneficial effects on PTSD symptoms in this population. It will be the first study to test whether the rs2832407 genotype predicts clinical response to topiramate for AUD and PTSD in patients with both disorders. Further, it will contribute to the understanding of topiramate's mechanisms of action in the co-morbid AUD/PTSD population, and to the discovery of predictors of treatment response.

In partnership with SARI Therapeutic Riding (SARI TR) and other equine therapy locations, Brescia University College, at the University of Western Ontario, will study the use of Equine Assisted Therapy (EAT) for military veterans and "first reponders" (emergency services personell) diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Data will be collected through tests and questionnaires, and follow-up interviews with participants. It is expected that after a series of EAT sessions, the social, emotional and psychological well-being of participants will be improved and PTSD symptoms alleviated.

This study utilizes a Hybrid Type 1 multi-arm parallel group randomized control design to compare the effectiveness of an evidence-based treatment (CETA) delivered either in-person or via telephone, compared with a treatment as usual (TAU) control group, on improving adolescent and young adult (AYA) mental and behavioral health outcomes. The study will also gather information on counselor treatment knowledge, fidelity and competency following a technology-delivered training. Lastly, the cost associated with these strategies will be explored to inform future scale-up of training and services. This study will be conducted in Lusaka, Zambia and participants will be enrolled at four different levels: prospective CETA trainers, prospective CETA counselors, AYA clients, and research/organizational staff. AYA clients are the primary participant type.

One of the principal complicating factors associated with traumatic brain injury (TBI) is sleep-wake disturbances (e.g., insomnia, excessive daytime sleepiness, and circadian rhythm sleep disorders). Morning bright light therapy (MBLT) has been shown to improve sleep quality in a variety of conditions, but little has been done investigating the utility of MBLT in improving sleep in Veterans with TBI. This proposal aims to determine the effect of MBLT on sleep quality in Veterans with TBI. Veterans with and without TBI will be recruited from the VA Portland Health Care System. Baseline questionnaires and 7 days of actigraphy will be collected prior to engaging in 60 minutes of MBLT daily for 4 weeks, during which actigraphy will also be collected continuously. Post-MBLT questionnaire data will be collected, and follow-up questionnaire data will be collected at 3 months post-MBLT.

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) with co-occurring Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) (i.e., PTSD-BPD) is common (as high as 58%), debilitating, costly, and limited treatment options available for this population. PTSD-BPD is associated with even greater functional impairment and higher healthcare burden than either disorder alone. There are surprisingly few treatments available for this clinical profile, despite its association with major negative health outcomes, cost, and morbidity. There is a pressing need to innovate treatments that can effectively and efficiently treat PTSD-BPD. The existing treatments used for PTSD-BPD are lengthy, laborious, resource-intensive, and require complete cessation of suicidal behaviors prior to treatment. Furthermore, no integrated treatment has been innovated to deliver the active ingredients to efficiently affect the mechanisms underpinning this comorbidity. The investigators propose to examine an adapted version of a first-line PTSD intervention, Cognitive Processing Therapy, augmented with a Suicide Risk Management, i.e., (CPT+SRM) as a brief (12 sessions) and more parsimonious treatment alternative that strategically targets shared mechanisms underpinning PTSD and BPD. The purpose of this pilot study is to 1) collect initial feasibility, acceptability, and safety data on this adapted treatment, 2) conduct a pilot randomized clinical trial evaluating the efficacy of CPT+SRM versus Treatment as Usual (TAU) + SRM, and 3) evaluate two targets (i.e, improvements in emotional intensity and cognitive dysfunction) as mechanisms leading to change in our primary outcomes. Both treatment conditions will be administered via telehealth. Potential benefits include reduction in participants' PTSD, BPD and other mental health symptoms. Additionally, this work could benefit the community by improving the treatment repertoire for PTSD-BPD. Potential risks include emotional distress, suicidality, and/or self-harm. Participants may experience discomfort and/or distress while discussing participants trauma(s) and mental health. These risks will be mitigated using a suicide risk management protocol which therapists in the assessment of risk and protective factors of suicide, followed by documentation for the decision-making around the management of risk.

The purpose of this study is to determine whether a behavioral sleep treatment improves functioning and sleep in Veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Exaggerated inflammation in the body and brain is thought to play a role in the vulnerability to and aggravation and perpetuation of adverse consequences among those with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The proposed study begins the process of investigating the use of a natural immunoregulatory/anti-inflammatory probiotic, Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG; ATCC53103), to treat chronic symptoms associated with PTSD among Veterans. By looking at the impact of probiotic supplementation on biological signatures of increased inflammation, as reflected by biomarkers of inflammation, gut microbiota composition, intestinal permeability, stress response, decision making, and PTSD symptoms, this study may identify a novel intervention for the treatment of symptoms associated with this frequently occurring condition.