View clinical trials related to Stress Disorders, Traumatic.
Filter by:The purpose of this study is to develop and test a couple-based treatment for Veterans with an alcohol use disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the equivalence of CPT treatment delivered remotely via telemental health (TMH) over videoconferencing or via traditional face-to face (FTF) treatment to veterans who have Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) from a military-related stressor (i.e., combat, sexual assault, non-combat physical assault). The secondary objective is to determine if patients' ratings of PTSD symptoms, affect, social adjustment, therapy alliance, treatment satisfaction and therapist satisfaction, are equivalent between service-delivery conditions (TMH vs. FTF). A final objective is to develop web-based practice assignments to assist participants in the TMH condition with treatment adherence (completion of the between- session practice assignments).
This study will examine the effect of combining prolonged exposure, a cognitive-behavioral treatment program for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with medication (varenicline) and counseling treatments for smoking cessation. Subjects will be randomly assigned to a 3-month treatment of either: 1) varenicline and smoking cessation counseling alone, or 2) prolonged exposure, varenicline, and smoking cessation counseling. Assessments will be completed at the end of treatment and 6-month follow-up. We hypothesize that, at the end of treatment and at follow-up, abstinence rates and decrease in cigarettes smoked will be greater among participants who receive the combined treatment for both PTSD and smoking.
Method: This study is designed as an accompaniment to an already funded study - a 12-week treatment trial with prazosin for patients with PTSD and AD. The study design will consist of III phases. In phase I, all subjects will participate in three laboratory sessions to determine their reactivity to stress. Stress reactivity will be measured using: traumatic experiences, stressful non-trauma experiences and neutral experiences, presented randomly. Laboratory sessions will be conducted in an outpatient setting. Phase II is a randomized clinical trial evaluating prazosin versus placebo for 12 weeks in a double-blind, controlled fashion in an outpatient setting. The treatment will last for 12 weeks and outcomes will include symptoms of PTSD and alcohol use. In phase III, subjects will again participate in a laboratory session. This phase of the study will be conducted after at least 6 weeks of treatment while patients are on medication (prazosin or placebo). Hypotheses: Primary: The investigators hypothesize that prazosin will be more effective than placebo in reducing trauma-related stress reactivity in a laboratory paradigm, particularly anxiety, craving for alcohol, and hormonal response, in individuals with PTSD and AD. Secondary: The investigators hypothesize that stress reactivity will have a moderating effect on treatment with prazosin, such that individuals with high levels of stress reactivity will have fewer heavy drinking days, a significant reduction in PTSD symptoms, and shorter time to relapse than individuals with low levels of stress reactivity.
Objective: The aims are to examine the feasibility and acceptability of a handheld biofeedback device as an adjunct treatment for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and to estimate its clinical effect size. A recent summary of 22 studies on OIF/OEF (Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom) veterans revealed that many individual and system factors (e.g., stigma, concern about promotion/employment, lack of providers) prevented access to mental health services. For veterans who did seek help, the largest treatment trials of pharmacologic, outpatient psychotherapy, and residential treatment programs were not very effective. Currently, prolonged exposure therapy is the most validated PTSD treatment. The VHA enrollees from OIF/OEF are more likely to live in rural areas, hindering them from pursuing treatment due to travel distance and time commitment. Thus, new treatments and delivery methods are urgently needed. A substantial body of preclinical literature documents autonomic nervous system (ANS) dysregulation in patients with PTSD. Preliminary results suggest that portable heart rate variability (HRV)/respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) biofeedback is a promising adjunct treatment for autonomic arousal disorders. The StressEraser, a HRV/RSA biofeedback device, is indicated for relaxation, relaxation training, and stress reduction. This small handheld device measures and displays real-time RSA via an infrared finger sensor. Research Plan: The investigators were able to randomize 16 OIF/OEF veterans receiving care for PTSD at CAVHS community-based outpatient clinics (CBOCs) to a 24-week course of StressEraser use (N=8) versus usual care (N=8). A trouble-shooting phone call to participants occurred at 6 weeks. Follow-up clinical assessments occurred at 12 and 24 weeks. Methods: The baseline assessment consisted of a screening interview for comorbid anxiety and substance use disorders, the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS), the 9-item depression Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), and a quality of life measure (Quality of Well-Being Scale-Self Administered [QWB-SA]). In addition, psychophysiologic assessment of reactivity and attentional bias to combat-related PTSD relevant stimuli occurred through virtual reality (VR) and acoustic startle stimuli at the North Little Rock psychophysiologic reactivity lab. The StressEraser group was trained to operate the device at baseline and instructed to use it for 5-20 minutes daily before bedtime for 24 weeks. At six weeks, a research assistant phoned the StressEraser group to address any problems with the device and the usual care group to insure adherence with ongoing treatment. The 12-week assessment involved phoning both groups to administer the psychometric measures (CAPS, PHQ-9, and QWB-SA). At 24 weeks, the sample returned to the lab for administration of the psychometric measures and assessment of psychophysiologic reactivity. The subjects in the StressEraser group returned the device. The time spent using the StressEraser and the total number of resonant frequency respirations were the feasibility measures. The StressEraser logged the date, time, and duration of use and the amount of resonant frequency breathing, which is the resonance between the respiratory and baroreflex rhythms, the two primary sources of cardiac stimulation. Acceptability was measured through a short debriefing interview.
The purpose of the study is to investigate the effect of treatment of traumatized refugees with a diagnosis of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The existing evidence point towards antidepressants of the type SSRI and trauma-focused cognitive Behavioural Therapy being the most effective treatments of PTSD, but very little evidence of treatment effects exist for the group of multitraumatized refugees. This study therefore seeks to investigate the treatment effect of 6 months drug therapy with antidepressants (Sertraline and/ or Mianserine) and/or trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy. A total of 200 individual will undergo treatment. They will be randomized to 4 different groups: antidepressants, psychotherapy, a combination og drug and psychotherapy and a waiting list. Outcome measures include symptoms, life quality and function. Patients with a diagnosis of drug abuse or psychosis will not be included. The hypothesis is that a combination of antidepressants and psychotherapy will be more effective than either of the two treatment regimes on their own.
The incidence of PTSD post ICU varies from unit to unit, however a significant number of patients have been shown to develop this disorder. Many patients do not recall their stay in ICU properly and yet can clearly recall nightmares, hallucinations or paranoid delusions, which may be very frightening for the patient to recall at a later stage. As yet, no interventional studies have had an impact on the development of PTSD in this population of patients. However, a recent observational multi-centre study suggested that those patients receiving a diary of their time in ICU had lower levels of symptoms of PTSD than those who did not. These results need to be verified in the form of a randomized study.
The goal of this study is to improve the effectiveness of tobacco cessation treatment for veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) through ongoing, integrated care management approach using telehealth and motivational interviewing counseling. Both tobacco dependence and PTSD represent enormous challenges to the Veterans Affairs (VA) healthcare system.
Objective: Alcoholism is highly co-morbid with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Since stress and negative affective states are major relapse triggering factors for alcohol use, the negative symptoms associated with PTSD are thought to promote alcohol dependence. Substance P, which is released in the amygdala in response to stress, acts at NK1 receptors (NK1Rs) to mediate behavioral stress responses. Blockade of the NK1R represents a novel approach for anti-stress actions. In a recent double blind, placebo controlled study involving detoxified anxious alcoholics, we found that NK1R antagonism decreased alcohol cravings, attenuated cortisol response to stress, and significantly decreased insula activation in response to negative sensory input. The present study is intended to expand the findings and determine whether the NK1R is a candidate target for treating alcohol dependent patients with PTSD. Study Population: On hundred twenty participants with PTSD and co-morbid alcohol dependence will be recruited and stratified by PTSD etiology (60 participants each with civilian and combat PTSD, resp). Within each stratum, the treatment groups will be balanced for sex using urn randomization. Stratification is indicated since civilian and combat-related PTSD can theoretically have a different pathophysiology. Civilians typically experience a single trauma exposure of invariably high magnitude, resulting in symptoms immediately. Combat-related PTSD typically results from multiple traumatic exposures over a prolonged period of time, of variable magnitude, and frequently with delayed emergence of symptoms. Design: Participants will be admitted to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) research inpatient unit at the NIH Clinical Research Center (CRC) under protocol number 05-AA-0121 for assessment and treatment of people with alcohol drinking problems, which provides diagnostic assessments and standard withdrawal treatment if needed. Participants will enter into the present protocol once such treatment, if needed is completed. Following inclusion, all participants will receive 1 week of single blind placebo, and will then be randomized to double blind treatment with aprepitant or placebo. Randomized treatment will be for 3 weeks. Spontaneous cravings for alcohol, and ratings of psychopathology will be obtained twice weekly on the inpatient unit throughout the study. Cravings as well as endocrine and immune responses will also be assessed in a challenge session that combines a social stressor and exposure to physical alcohol cues. During the final week, three sessions utilizing scripts will be carried out, on separate days in counter-balanced order, exposing the participant to personalized trauma, alcohol-associated or neutral stimuli. Cravings as well as endocrine and immune responses will also be assessed during the script presentations. A functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) session will be carried out last to assess responses to affective stimuli. Participants will remain hospitalized throughout the study, and will remain on the unit for a three day post-medication monitoring period. Outcome Measures: The primary outcome will be craving alcohol and changes in PTSD symptoms resulting from the script sessions. Secondary outcomes will include cravings and changes in PTSD symptoms resulting from the combined social stress-alcohol cure challenge session, spontaneous craving and PTSD symptoms during hospitalization, and brain responses on the fMRI session. Changes in PTSD symptoms and cravings for alcohol are intended to be surrogate markers for the overall effect of the drug treatment and are not intended to represent global improvement for either PTSD or alcoholism.
This study will examine the use of prolonged exposure therapy on people who have recently experienced a trauma to prevent them from developing post-traumatic stress disorder.