View clinical trials related to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Filter by:This study will examine the effects of psychotherapy as treatment for PTSD. This research will see how brain activity and brain connectivity is affected by Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) and Muscle Relaxation Therapy (MRT). Participants that qualify to be in this study will receive 8 weeks of group therapy in MBCT or MRT. Prior to receiving therapy participants will: complete baseline assessments related to their PTSD; fill out surveys; have an functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI); and provide a saliva sample. These assessments will be repeated after the therapy is over. Overall study participation should last approximately 10-12 weeks.
The objective of this study is to determine if, compared to placebo, zonisamide (400mg/day) is a safe and efficacious treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and alcohol use disorder (AUD) in Veterans with PTSD and co-occurring AUD.
The purpose of the study is to gain greater insight into Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing (EMDR). EMDR is an NHS recommended treatment, which can significantly reduce trauma symptoms. There is some debate regarding how it actually works, however there is evidence to suggest that the eye movements component helps reduce anxiety and increase relaxation levels. To measure these arousal levels during EMDR previous research has used electrocardiography (ECG) to measure heart rate, which offers insight into the effectiveness of eye movements (EM). All studies to date have used ECG to measure arousal levels which requires technical knowledge to administer and interpret. Furthermore, applying electrodes to a patient experiencing PTSD may heighten anxiety. The present study will use new technology which is a small device that would be gently attached to the end of the patient's index finger. This device is very similar to one that measures oxygen levels in the blood and therefore is a very simple piece of equipment and should cause no discomfort to the patient. The study also requires patient's faces to be video recorded throughout and it will only be their face that is recorded. This is to match the stages of treatment (i.e. when EM starts and stops) to their corresponding arousal level outcome. The new technology will digitally measure the patient's anxious and relaxed arousal levels during EM and no EM treatment sessions. 10 NHS patients would be recruited to receive two treatment sessions; one with EM and one without and then continue with treatment as usual without any of the recording devices. EM and no EM phases occur at least three times within a treatment session and therefore several measurements can be taken and analysed.
Patients with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) will be randomized to a 12-week intervention of Sudarshan Kriya Yoga Trauma Relief Program (SKY) or a wait list control (WLC) to assess the effects of this intervention on symptoms of PTSD, depression, anxiety, quality of life, autonomic symptoms, and blood inflammatory markers.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is an acquired psychiatric condition that occurs after exposure to a dangerous or life-threatening event. It is characterized by persistent fear- and stress-related symptoms, such as nightmares, flashbacks, depression, anxiety and guilt. These symptoms can interfere significantly with patients' lives and in some cases can be debilitating. One of the most frequent causes of PTSD is being a victim of a violent, interpersonal assault. PTSD is felt to be primarily a disorder of memory formation - stressful memories are encoded too strongly in a patient's long-term memory, remaining too accessible and "present" to the patient long after the actual threat has passed. In recent years evidence has emerged that it may be possible to prevent PTSD by moderating the process of memory consolidation that occurs in the hours and days after a traumatic event. Early research has suggested that enhancing the body's natural cortisol response to a stressful event may be a safe and effective way of moderating the process of memory consolidation and promoting adaptive, non-pathological memory encoding. In particular, the administration of hydrocortisone, a safe and widely used drug that mimics the body's own cortisol hormone, appears to reduce the risk of developing PTSD in patients who have sustained a traumatic event. However, this research is still in relatively early stages, and requires larger trials to confirm its efficacy. In addition, the research thus far has not adequately targeted assault victims, whom Investigator feel are some of the patients most likely to benefit from such an approach. Investigators propose a prospective, placebo-controlled, double-blinded trial of administering single-dose oral hydrocortisone or placebo to 100 assault victims seen in the Einstein Medical Center Philadelphia Emergency Department to determine if this approach has efficacy in preventing PTSD. This study is designed as a pilot study, with the hopes that the data gathered in it can be used to design a larger and more robust trial in the future.
Post-traumatic stress disorder, PTSD, is one of the most prevalent psychiatric disorders. As casualties of motor vehicle accidents, criminal acts or terrorism are arriving to the ER, it is almost impossible to conclude who will overcome his psychiatric trauma and will be able to return to his normal life course and who will be thrown out of his promising life trajectory. Current attempts to identify those who are at the greatest risk are still unsatisfactory, which comprise a therapeutic dilemma, since the interventions used to ameliorate and prevent the occurrence of PTSD in a high-risk patient, might be counter-productive and even precipitate the emergence of PTSD in lower-risk patients. Since PTSD is closely related to the "Fight, Flight or Freeze" reaction, it has much to do with the autonomic nervous system and the major stress hormone, cortisol. Despite many studies demonstrating the involvement of those factors in the development of PTSD, various attempts to profile the direction of the association between PTSD and cortisol abnormalities have yielded conflicting results. The introduction of a novel method of assessing the excretion of cortisol using residues in the human hair shaft, has allowed an unprecedented evaluation of its activity over a prolonged period of time. Using this novel method of cortisol assessment, the investigators aim to identify biomarkers that will be able to aid in the prediction of PTSD development ahead of symptoms emergence, and will enhance the understanding of the physiological mechanism involved and etiology of this disorder.
The purpose of this study is to determine whether deep brain stimulation of the basolateral nucleus (BLn) of the amygdala, on both sides of the brain, can safely reduce symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in combat veterans whose condition has not improved despite extensive treatment with currently available medication and psychotherapy interventions.
This study will be an 8-week randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial of pregnenolone administered adjunctively to treatment as usual in PTSD and depression in OEF/OIF Veterans.
This study will determine whether a specialized Web site geared for the guardians of children whose one parent has murdered the other can increase guardian capabilities, reduce guardian stress, and improve child behavior and mental health.
Developing novel and effective pharmacologic interventions for this post-traumatic stress disorder is important. The investigators propose to replicate findings of an earlier published pilot study using low dose hydrocortisone as a treatment for PTSD. In order to do so in a more meaningful way, the investigators will conduct a larger but similar randomized double-blind placebo-controlled, cross-over design treatment study examining the use of low dose hydrocortisone (or placebo) for 4 weeks in combat veterans suffering from PTSD. The investigators hypothesize that, as described by Aerni et al. (2004), administration of daily hydrocortisone will lead to a reduction in PTSD symptom severity, but particularly for re-experiencing types (e.g., flashbacks, nightmares)of symptoms. The investigators also hope to examine potential predictors and moderators of treatment response based on subjects' clinical characteristics, as well as serum cortisol and ACTH levels.