News Should I Hope For A New Drug For Old Trauma Ptsd?

[Powder]

This article from January, 2014 says research is underway to mitigate the epigenetic problems in our hippocampus that won't let the out traumatic memories decay or be atenuated.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/rebecca...ntifies-possible-new-drug-treatment-for-ptsd/

This is a news article from Forbes, so just a review, but there is a link to "Cell" that takes you to the research paper.

 

[Deleted member 1860]

I think this article was posted before because I remember laughing at the idea that an "old" trauma is 30 days old. Yes, at this point one is only able to first receive a PTSD diagnosis.

Should you hope? Well yes you should always hope. Unfortunately drug trials do in fact take a long time and many end up in failure. I wouldn't put all my eggs in one basket. Work on healing with what is available to you now, and perhaps the drug will be a viable option in the future.

 

[J_trustno1]

Agreed with @Solara . There are so many drugs they try making each year and believe me it takes them 10 odd years of initial testing in labs, then the screening, then checking potency, testing on animals, then testing on humans. Majority of times 90% + more drugs fail to even be out in the public because of not passing the standards. However, the results they given for a smaller study on mice isn't very reliable because the drug hasn't been out in public and it takes them 10 yrs of testing on humans to make sure if it safe. Don't fall for it. Not all of them are safe. I am telling you this because I have studied medicinal chemistry as part of my major and they reveal a lot of truths about these drugs. You have great examples out there, e.g. LSD, MDMA, Morphine, Heroine and many more which were legal at one stage because there was no evidence but they had to be banned.

I think I should leave because I might've bored you.

 

[Deleted member 19804]

Hope is always a good thing, but like stated by others before me, don't let your hope for a cure depend on this (or any) drug. Drugs can help you find the strength you need to get better, but with PTSD (and most other mental illnesses) they are never a cure on their own. They can mask or treat your symptoms, but unfortunately not the root of the problem.

If you want to start using a (new) form of medication (and this is going to sound annoying, sorry about that) always talk about it with your GP, or perhaps even better, a psychiatrist.

 

[Hashi]

I agree with what others say.

Solara's point about treating trauma that's 30 days' old would answer my first thought. I think years of trauma and living with its effects, possibly including self-blame, self-harm, lack of self-care, derealisation, dissociation, trauma re-enactment, anxiety, depression and other disorders... take us far beyond a fix to the hippocampus.

 

[Justmehere]

I find some significant problems with the study design itself - but it was very interesting to read. I think it is very hopeful that researchers are working on all of this. The more they understand the brain and bring attention to PTSD, the better. There is always reason to hope that better treatments will keep coming out.

 

[Powder]

I don't know enough about biochem or chem to analyze this Wikipedia article on this drug. But one class of this drug has already been in use in various forms for years as an anti-seizure drug (Depakote).

Studies are already well underway for a phase I cure for AIDS/HIV and also as a treatment for cancer. HDAC inhibitors silence tumors and ovarian and breast cancers, so it is being tested as an effective treatment for cancer as well. Imagine not having to endure chemo or radiation to survive cancer!

I think this set of drugs that is all about epigenetics (the expression of genes) is pretty interesting.

As an older child, I was under the impression that science sought to alter our DNA. This is a more conservative aim to not alter the DNA itself but to modify the expression of genes selectively to stop cancerous formations throughout the body, to reduce inflamation in the brain and Alziemers, to stop the lack of neorplasticity of brain cells involved in memory in PTSD, and to cure HIV. There is even mention that it is being looked at as a protective measure to help people survive a heart attack by protecting the heart during the attack.

I guess it gives me some hope, because my grandpa died of multiple myloma in the 80s. Now there are many treatments and many people have survived what was back then an "untreatable" form of cancer.

If this was a totally new compound, I would be less interested. But like other treatments that are now gold standards, there is simply a new application for a drug used for years to treat other diseases. When the first SSRI, Prozac was released, several derivations also were developed. So that is what this looks to be in perhaps a shorter period of time.

I guess the 50% efficacious and non-permanent Chicago Block with risk of paralysis is just not sounding too great to me. The least invasive method, the lowest risk, and the most reversable and time-limited method is a topical, inhaled, or pill form of treatment with a drug that has a long track record of safety and low side effects. I am going to take a peak at side-effects of Depakote, just out of curiosity. I had a college classmate who was able to drive and attend college while taking Depakote, but it did make him feel sleepy.