New Medical Treatment For PTSD

[Still Trying]

My parents were listening to NPR (National Public Radio in the US) last week and say there was a story about a new promising treatment for PTSD that involved an injection or series of injections. I'm really skeptical of this since I can't find any reference to it through NPR and my parents may easily have misunderstood the acronym. Has anyone heard about any kind of research or results of this kind of study?

Thanks

 

[anthony]

The only thing I found of late with PTSD and relation to injections, was the removal of memories all together by injecting a chemical to remove the skin of the amygdala:

Erasing Memories

But it was a different story for baby rats. They did eventually forget, and could hear the sound without reacting in fear. The memory was erased. And the team thinks it knows why.

When rats are about three weeks old, brain cells in the amygdala acquire a protective molecular sheath. The researchers thought that sheath might make it harder to erase memories.

To test the hypothesis, they injected adult rats with a drug that dissolved the sheath. The adult rats forgot their fear. The scientists restored their early ability to erase fearful memories.

The experiment, published in the journal Science on Friday, shows that "you can recover the ability of these animals to erase fear memories," Luthi says.

Not sure how erasing memories will fly though in society today, whether for good or not.

I do worry though about the last statement in the following about human trials:

But What About People?


When it comes to fear, rats and people have a lot in common, says Joseph LeDoux, a professor of neuroscience at New York University and one of the nation's most prominent fear researchers.
You can see the similarities by watching a video taken during the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, LeDoux says. It shows a crowd of people watching a concert. Then a bomb explodes "and everyone is hunkered down in a freezing posture," he says.


LeDoux says he is confident that rat experiments like the one done by Luthi's team will lead to better treatments for humans. Human brain cells have sheaths like those in rats, and these could become a target for new drugs.


Research on ways to erase memories has some people worried about the potential for misuse by governments or the military.


But LeDoux says it would be wrong to halt experiments that could help people with phobias, panic disorder, or PTSD.


"Any PTSD patient I've talked to has been willing to sacrifice a few normal memories for the bad ones they may get rid of if these experiments are successful," he says.

 

[becvan]

I only found this one about shooting up mice...

"Prof. Joseph Zohar from the Sackler Medical School, Tel Aviv University, has found that an injection of cortisol shortly after exposure to a traumatic event may prevent the onset of PTSD. He is now taking his animal model findings to the U.S. National Institute of Health and hopes to start clinical trials on this exploratory research within the next year."

found at: psychcentral.com/news/2008/12/02/new-treatment-may-prevent-ptsd/3428.html

bec

 

[Deleted member 541]

I posted [DLMURL="http://www.ptsdforum.org/thread9116.html"]An Injection Of Cortisol May Prevent PTSD[/DLMURL] this back in Dec. in World PTSD News, I wonder if this is the study Still Trying is talking about????

 

[sigh]

I have heard stories of injections of indural *immeadiatly after the trauma. But I think it mainly to curb the flight or fight response of a single incident trauma.

 

[trapped]

There are many drugs that have been researched in attempt to figure out an injection that could be given after trauma to reduce the risk of developing PTSD... I can't discuss the details yet, but I worked on a research project not long ago that was along those lines. The most I can legally say about the work I did, is I really hope the treatment *doesn't* get used, because the risks and negative side effects by far outweigh the benefits. I realize that's a bold statement, and I don't mean to offend anyone, but seeing what I saw with the data from the research, and having the experience of having PTSD, even if I could go back in time and get the injections, I wouldn't. If I had to choose between that or having flashbacks multiple times a day every day for the rest of my life, I'd choose the latter. Everything I've ever heard about though is only for immediately after trauma to reduce risk of PTSD. The only thing I've heard about something to help treat existing PTSD is on MDMA... There was quite a bit of research about that, and I know last year NPR even had some segments talking about the possibility of MDMA being used to help people who have PTSD.

 

[Hemels]

I have heard alot about MDMA being used to treat PTSD. They have researched in various contries (that have allowed the research among humans) and have noticed that MDMA's effects when given to a patient suffering from PTSD helps them to speak openly about the trauma with therapists and thus allows the healing process without the patient suffering flash backs, anxiety attacks etc whilst talking about it. According to the research it helps 40% more PTSD suffers then the normal therapy methords that are used at the moment.

Here is a link to the organisation that is trialing MDMA and PTSD >>>
http://www.maps.org/mdma/

Hemmy xXx

 

[anthony]

I think this is another crock of shit trial though, the moment I read:

Preliminary studies have shown that MDMA in conjunction with psychotherapy can help people overcome PTSD.

There are already so many drugs on the market, this is just another trying to make money. Overcome... exactly how is this drug with psychotherapy going to magically reverse the chemical imbalance within the brain?

I despise studies more and more nowadays... people just wanting to get a name for themselves trying to reinvent the wheel another way.

 

[SunnyBrookFarm]

I am suspicious of any treatment that seems "easy", "fast" or a "quick-fix". Come on, our brains have rewired, our brains no longer work the way they used too.

Regardless, I think that studies like this also give patients false hope and then set them up for failure when the new med/shot whatever doesn't work. Failure is the last thing any of us need to deal with.

It would be nice to believe that it would be so easy to turn PTSD around - but it's just not the reality.

 

[Manic11]

...exactly how is this drug with psychotherapy going to magically reverse the chemical imbalance within the brain?

Exactly what I was just thinking. If this does work and get rid of someones memories, it doesn't change the chemical imbalance in the brain. It could even make things worse. Like before the diagnosis when you didn't know what was going on, why you were feeling these ways.

Manic