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

A broad group of disorders is associated with severe stress existence in children or adolescents. The most characteristic result, and one of the most serious being the state of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), whose main source consists of physical or sexual violence, and to a lesser extent, accidents public road or natural disaster, whose child was the subject or witness. PTSD is associated with a deleterious effect on cognition and including the mnemonic operation. The painful reminder of the traumatic event is one of the most disabling symptoms. However, there are many other memory disorders that experimental studies gradually update. They maintain a close link with emotional regulation that disturbed you know if PTSD. However the majority of studies on emotion and cognition and their relationship with brain activity took adult subject. Work in adolescents are few on the morphological study, on rare neurobehavioral and reduced to two studies of functional neuroimaging. Contrary to what is observed in adults, morphological studies report consistently, no reduction in hippocampal volume. There is no study in the idle state. Two studies in functional MRI, the first highlighted in PTSD patients inhibition of the activity of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) to stimuli such as to evoke the trauma, a second reported increased activity in the prefrontal cortex Median (mPFC) in a inhibition. The objective task of our study is to evaluate the impact of psychological trauma on brain structures involved in the emotional component of the memory (amygdala, hippocampus, prefrontal cortex in particular). For this, the investigators will take in 33 adolescents, including patients with posttraumatic symptomatology and matched controls free of trauma age, several neuroimaging exams, anatomical and functional. The functional review will include some rest and another in activation during episodic memory task designed to assess the influence of self-perception on memory impairment observed in patients. The investigators will check, for each group of patients and controls, the involvement of cortical structures in relation to the regulation of emotional memory (CCA, amygdala and hippocampus). The anatomy of the hippocampus benefit specific imaging methods developed in the unit INSERM U923. Endocrine correlates of stress tests will be studied by a fully-traumatic by salivary cortisol sampling. This research will clarify the mechanisms involved in emotional and memory impairments secondary to psychological trauma, their relationship with self (judgment and self-esteem) and studying their morphological substrates. A longer-term goal is to offer help in the diagnosis and monitoring of young patients with posttraumatic symptomatology.

It has been suggested that N-acetylcysteine exerts neuroprotective effects by regulating neurotransmitters and cell signaling pathways. We hypothesize that oral N-acetylcysteine augmentation will help reduce symptoms in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder as well as improve cognitive functions. We also expect that the N-acetylcysteine augmentation will induce change in structural, functional, and neurochemical aspects of the brain. In this study, we plan to conduct a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled augmentation study with N-acetylcysteine in addition to escitalopram. We will assess the efficacy and safety of the N-acetylcysteine augmentation.

Hyperarousal is a key symptom of PTSD. Even after receiving trauma-focused therapy, PTSD patients may continue to suffer from hyperarousal. Our main objectives are to measure hyperarousal in VA outpatients with PTSD related to combat experience in the last 10 years and to test the efficacy of physiological relaxation training in reducing this hyperarousal. Measurements will be both physiological, using 24 hour ambulatory monitoring of skin conductance, heart rate, and physical activity during waking and sleeping, and psychological, using self-reports and clinician interviews. Specific aims include initially evaluating 100 or more PTSD patients for the severity of their hyperarousal symptoms. Of these, 50 with at least moderate hyperarousal who either have participated in a trauma-focused therapy or have declined to participate in such a therapy will be recruited for a therapy trial. Volunteers will be randomized to treatment consisting of 5 sessions of individual physiological relaxation training with biofeedback over a 4-week period or to a 2-month waiting period after which they also may receive this therapy. Physiological evaluations of the patients' ability to relax will be measured at three times -before treatment, immediately after treatment, and 6 months after treatment. Clinical evaluations by interviews and questionnaires on measures of symptoms and disability will be measured at four times - before treatment, immediately after treatment, 1 month after treatment, and 6 months after treatment. The waiting-list group and a nonanxious control group will be tested psychophysiologically twice at the same interval as the patients before and immediately after treatment. A control group will allow us to calibrate our measures in the setting in which they are being applied. We hypothesize that this therapy will relieve both self-reported and objective, physiological symptoms of hyperarousal. Relevance to health and the VA mission: Many of our clients at the VA Palo Alto Mental Health Outpatient Services for PTSD are veterans of Iraq, who need help with hyperarousal symptoms. This study will fill in gaps in our knowledge about the physiology of these symptoms and about the efficacy of relaxation therapies. Non-pharmacological treatments like the ones that we propose may relieve patients' hyperarousal to an extent that they are less tempted to turn to alcohol or sedative drugs.

Chronic posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating disorder and treatment response to pharmacological interventions has been modest for these patients. Chronic elevated anxiety and associated psychophysiological parameters including increased heart rate and alterations in skin conductance are key symptoms of chronic PTSD. Antidepressants, including selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SRIs) or norepinephrine-serotonin re-uptake inhibitors are considered treatment of first choice for these patients, however a substantial portion of patients do not respond sufficiently (Zhang and Davidson 2007). Therefore, there is a need to establish novel and effective add-on treatment strategies for these patients. Recently, atypical neuroleptics have received considerable attention since it was shown in multiple controlled and naturalistic trials that these medications are an effective treatment option for patients with PTSD (Davis et al 2006). In chronic PTSD, the psychophysiological responses at baseline and in response to treatment have yet been inadequately studied and may provide novel insight into antidepressant and anxiolytic mechanisms of medications used in the treatment of PTSD. Therefore, in addition to evaluating the antidepressant and anxiolytic effects of paliperidone, a novel atypical neuroleptic, in the treatment of PTSD, we also aim to compare neurophysiological responses at baseline with post-treatment effects in antidepressant-refractory PTSD patients. Primary Aim 1: Evaluate the anxiolytic and antidepressant effects of paliperidone in patients with PTSD. Secondary Aim 2: Evaluate the effects of paliperidone on fear conditioned psychophysiological responses (including startle eyeblink, skin conductance, and cardiovascular inter-beat interval) at baseline and after 6 weeks of naturalistic treatment in chronic PTSD patients.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate efficacy and safety of Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid for the prevention of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in patients with accidental injuries.

The purpose of this study is: 1) To document the effectiveness and tolerability of paroxetine for the treatment of subthreshold posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in veterans in the early post-deployment period; and 2) To determine the potential efficacy of paroxetine in preventing the progression of anxiety symptoms to PTSD and other anxiety disorders, and improving overall veteran function.

The objective of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of topiramate (250mg) or lamotrigine (250mg) versus placebo in reducing alcohol consumption and decreasing symptoms of PTSD in patients with comorbid AD and PTSD.

This research project is a follow-up to the prior VA-funded study that found that chronic fatigue reported by many Gulf War veterans may be a symptom of dysfunctional cardiovascular stress response regulation. Specifically, ill veterans had diminished autonomic responses during demanding psychosocial tasks involving high level cognitive processing and emotional stress. There was a close relationship between clinical status of ill veterans and their inability to mount an appropriate physiological response under stress. The main objective of the present investigation is to determine the specific mechanism through which this abnormality may contribute to Gulf War-related chronic fatigue. We also observed that Gulf veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) had the most dampened autonomic activation to stressors involving higher brain activities. The second major focus of this study is to explore the role of a psychiatric disorder, specifically PTSD, as a factor in abnormalities in stress response regulation. This aspect of the study may also provide pertinent information as to the role of stress of military deployment as a contributing factor in post-Gulf War illnesses.

This study will assess the effectiveness of taking propranolol soon after a traumatizing incident in reducing the incidence and severity of posttraumatic stress disorder in acutely traumatized individuals.

The proposed study aims to understand the impact of a 5-Class CBTm Course on variables contributing to workplace resilience among Public Safety Personnel (PSP). This involves examining the impact of the CBTm Course on prevention of PTSD and related conditions among PSPs. This research project will be undertaken using a randomized-controlled trial design. Questionnaires will be completed 1) before taking the course, 2) during the course, 3) after the course, and 4) at three-month follow-up.