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

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) affects approximately 30 % of American veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Although the current therapy is effective, a percentage of patients will fail to improve and will develop chronic treatment-resistant PTSD. Patients suffering from PTSD experience intense suffering, lack of productivity and a higher risk of suicide. Unfortunately, combat PTSD has a tendency to be resistant to current treatments. The central goal of this project is to develop a new therapeutic strategy involving the placement of intracranial electrodes to treat the symptoms of PTSD. The project is based on recent evidence showing abnormal activity in a specific brain region of PTSD patients, thought to be responsible for the core symptoms of PTSD.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a highly prevalent anxiety disorder that is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular (CV) disease and hypertension. One potential mechanism is overactivation of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS), both at rest and particularly during stress. This study will evaluate whether 8 weeks of daily DGB therapy or transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (tVNS) therapy improves SNS activity at rest and during stress.

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) affects many individuals who experience a traumatic event. There are a variety of treatment options for PTSD, including psychotherapy (talk therapy) options, as well as medications, such as the drug prazosin. Each of the treatment options available is effective at significantly reducing the symptoms of PTSD in some, but not all, individuals with PTSD. However, investigators are not yet able to predict in advance who is likely to respond to which of the available treatments. Neither are the investigators able to explain what changes in the brain after exposure to a traumatic stressors, and why it results in persistent symptoms of PTSD for some people, but not for others. In this study, the investigators are testing two things: First, is testing whether two simple, easy tests of how an individual's blood pressure changes with standing and how an individual's eye reacts to a pulse of light may be able to predict whether that person is likely to respond to the medication prazosin for PTSD. Second, is testing whether those who have been exposed to a traumatic stress show differences in how their body regulates the response to the stress-signal noradrenaline.

This study seeks to determine if pregnenolone can improve symptoms of PTSD and other symptoms that commonly occur with PTSD in Iraq/Afghanistan-era Veterans. The total study duration is 10 weeks. Eligible Veterans with PTSD will receive either pregnenolone or placebo throughout the study duration and will complete mental and physical health assessments at each study visit. Eligible participants will attend 6 in-person study visits and receive several short "check-in" phone calls.

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a common cause of morbidity in combat veterans, but current treatments are often inadequate. Reconsolidation of Traumatic Memories (RTM) is a novel treatment that seeks to alter key aspects of the target memory (e.g., color, clarity, speed, distance, perspective) to make it less impactful, and reduce nightmares, flashbacks, and other features of PTSD. The memory is reviewed in the context of an imaginal movie theater, presenting a fast (~45 sec) black and white movie of the trauma memory, with further adjustment as needed so the patient can comfortably watch it. Open and waitlist studies of RTM have reported high response rates and rapid remission, setting the stage for this randomized, controlled, single-blind trial comparing RTM versus prolonged exposure (PE), the PTSD therapy with the strongest current evidence base. The investigators hypothesize that RTM will be non-inferior to PE in reducing PTSD symptom severity post-treatment and at 1-year follow up; will achieve faster remission, with fewer dropouts; will improve cognitive function; and that epigenetic markers will correlate with treatment response. The investigators will randomize 108 active or retired service members (SMs) with PTSD to ≤10 sessions of RTM or PE, affording power to test our hypotheses while allowing for ≤ 25% dropouts. The investigators will use an intent to treat analysis, and the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition, or DSM5 (CAPS-5), conducted by blinded assessors, will be the primary outcome measure. Secondary measures of depression (PHQ-9), anxiety (GAD-7), sleep (PSQI), and functional status (WHOQOL-100), will be assessed pre- and post-treatment, and at 2, 6, and 12 months. ANOVA will compare symptom severity over time within and between groups. The investigators will track comorbid TBI, anticipating it will not adversely impact response. More effective therapies for PTSD, with and without TBI, must be developed and evaluated. RTM is safe and promising, but requires testing against evidence-based interventions in well-designed randomized clinical trials (RCTs). The full study can be conducted either in person or via secure video conferencing.

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) afflicts many war Veterans, but often they are reluctant to seek help despite availability of effective treatments. Family members are key sources of support who can help encourage such Veterans to initiate mental health services. Toward that goal, VA provides telephone coaching to family members through its Coaching Into Care (CIC) program to help get their Veterans into care. While CIC enjoys high caller satisfaction, it has shown only modest success getting Veterans into care. Blended interventions that include professional support and technology-based interventions offer promise for improving effectiveness of services. Therefore, this study tests an intervention that blends CIC calls with a web program called VA Community Reinforcement and Family Training (VA-CRAFT). VA-CRAFT is a translation of an empirically-validated model intended to help Veterans by training their family members to effectively promote care-seeking. If successful, this approach will support families and help more Veterans receive needed mental health care for PTSD.

This will be a single-site, open-label phase 2 study designed to test the feasibility of administering MDMA in conjunction with psychotherapy for combat-related treatment-resistant PTSD in US military veterans currently enrolled in VA. MDMA will be given in conjunction with structured psychotherapy in three single-dose psychotherapy sessions in a hospital setting over the course of 12 weeks, along with preparatory and integration psychotherapy sessions in-between each active-dose session. The overall objective of this study is to evaluate the risks, benefits, and feasibility of MDMA used in conjunction with manualized psychotherapy, on reduction of symptoms, or remission of PTSD, as evaluated by standard clinical measures, in a VA Healthcare System. The primary outcome measure for the study is the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS-5), a semi-structured interview used in the majority of clinical trials for PTSD, which will be assessed at baseline, primary endpoint, and at the long-term 12-month follow-up visit. Secondary safety and efficacy measures will also be collected. The planned duration of this study is 1-3 years, with each active treatment period lasting approximately 12 weeks, along with a long-term follow-up 12 months after the last active-drug session.

Mental contamination-an internal experience of dirtiness evoked in the absence of physical contact with an external source-has been linked to the development and maintenance of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following exposure to sexual abuse or assault (Adams et al., 2014; Badour et al., 2013; Brake et al., 2017). Mental contamination has been associated with greater PTSD severity (Rachman et al., 2015) and higher elevations in specific PTSD symptom clusters (particularly those of intrusive reexperiencing, negative cognitions/mood, and arousal/reactivity; Brake et al., 2019; Fergus & Bardeen, 2016). Additionally, trauma-related mental contamination has been linked to a number of negative posttraumatic emotions such as shame, guilt, disgust, and anger (Fairbrother & Rachman, 2004; Radomsky & Elliott, 2009) Despite clear and consistent links between mental contamination and problematic posttraumatic outcomes following sexual trauma, there is a dearth of research investigating how existing or promising new interventions for PTSD impact mental contamination. Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) is an efficacious and effective 12-session manualized cognitive-behavioral intervention for PTSD that is considered a gold-standard empirically-supported treatment for PTSD that is recommended by the American Psychological Association (APA, 2017). In addition to PTSD symptom improvement, CPT has also demonstrated benefit for improving feelings of shame and guilt, which are often seen among individuals with trauma-related mental contamination (Nishith et al., 2005; Resick et al., 2002, 2008). Cognitive reappraisal, a primary technique employed in CPT, involves challenging one's view of an emotionally-eliciting situation to alter its emotional impact (Gross & John, 2003). However, some investigators have suggested that cognitive reappraisal may be less effective in targeting moral emotions such as shame, guilt, and self-disgust that are based on an individual's standards and virtues (Finlay, 2015). Self-compassion (SC; i.e., self-directed care and kindness; forgiveness; and feelings of common humanity; Neff, 2003) has been proposed as an alternative method for addressing trauma-related shame and preliminary evidence suggests a 6-session self-compassion intervention may have benefit for reducing both PTSD symptoms and trauma-related shame (Au et al., 2017). Given the centrality of shame, guilt, and self-disgust to the experience of mental contamination, and the fact that mental contamination often arises in response to experiences involving moral violation or betrayal (Millar et al., 2016; Rachman, 2010), a SC intervention for PTSD may also offer promise as a standalone or adjunctive intervention for reducing trauma-related mental contamination. A test of these interventions for their impact on reducing trauma-related mental contamination is needed. The current study will use Single Case Experimental Design to isolate and evaluate the effects of CPT and SC in reducing both PTSD symptoms and trauma-related mental contamination among individuals with PTSD resulting from sexual trauma. Aims: 1) explore whether participants demonstrate reductions in mental contamination and PTSD symptoms in response to 12-sessions of CPT or 6-sessions of a SC intervention; 2) evaluate whether presentation of either treatment first yields differences in symptom reduction for PTSD and/or mental contamination symptoms; 3) evaluate whether the addition of the alternative module will enhance reductions in PTSD symptoms and mental contamination; 4) evaluate if such reductions are maintained during follow-up. Visual inspection analysis and statistical methods will be used to draw conclusions regarding the effects of the interventions on PTSD symptoms and mental contamination.

This pilot RCT will test the preliminary efficacy of an intensive group model of Internal Family Systems (IFS) called the Program for Alleviating and Resolving Trauma and Stress (PARTS) compared with a Nature-Based Stress Reduction for Trauma Survivors (NBSR-T) attention placebo control group at reducing PTSD symptom severity measured by Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS-5). In addition, the effects of the interventions on self-reported PTSD symptoms, disassociation, and disturbances of self-organization (DSO), as well as mechanisms of emotion regulation, decentering and self-compassion will be secondary outcomes.

The study will (1) assess feasibility of a TMS treatment in an underserved population; (2) determine if this TMS treatment protocol improves PTSD symptoms and biological markers of PTSD such as brain functioning and startle responses; (3) define new brain targets for future TMS studies; (4) provide the first data for individual differences, which will help personalize treatment for PTSD patients; (5) improve knowledge of the neurobiology of PTSD and treatment response.