An interesting article in last Friday's Chicago Tribune (registration required) talked about the possibility of there being a pharmaceutical drug, already used for treating high blood pressure, that might have some off-label use in treating combat trauma (and other traumas as well), particularly if given within hours of exposure to the traumatic episode. Studies are still being done on the drug, but it looks cautiously promising from the strict pharmaceutical angle. (There are other options for treating trauma as well, that may not rely on drugs). Some of the highlights from the article:
"Brain scientists think they have found a way to help by using a drug called propranolol to alter traumatic thoughts. It appears that the drug, a beta blocker used to treat high blood pressure, interferes with stress hormones in the brain to defuse the impact of horrific memories. While use of the drug for this purpose has not been approved, some psychiatrists already have begun to prescribe it to patients with PTSD. (Other beta blockers do not seem to affect the brain the same way.) "Researchers emphasize that the drug can lower the intensity of a bad memory--but not erase it."
Also,
"Dr. Roger Pitman, a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, wondered if giving propranolol as soon as possible after a traumatic event could prevent indelible, terrifying memories from taking hold. He tested the idea on 41 people who had experienced car accidents, assaults and other events that brought them to a Massachusetts emergency room. They received the drug within six hours of their mishaps. The results were dramatic. Three months later, 22 of the victims listened to audiotapes on which they had described their traumas. None of those who took propranolol showed strong responses to the tapes, but eight of the placebo patients were obviously shaken by reliving their experiences. Their heart rates increased, their palms sweated, their muscles twitched--all signs of PTSD. Now Pitman's group is pursuing a study in which patients with chronic PTSD are treated repeatedly with propanolol. "If we get positive results, there are many potential applications for people with PTSD from a variety of sources, including Hurricane Katrina and the Iraq War," Pitman said.
