New Help for Post-Traumatic StressIvanhoe Broadcast News - September 21, 2001
Sept. 21, 2001 (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Many people who are experiencing traumatic stress after last week's terrorist acts may soon be able to improve symptoms with medication. In the first human study ever to look at the effect medication has on the brain of post-traumatic stress disorder patients, researchers have found a type of antidepressant medication improves symptoms. During an interview with Ivanhoe Broadcast News, J. Douglas Bremner, M.D., and Eric Vermetten, M.D., from Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, explained their most recent work. During the course of one year, 16 PTSD patients were given 1 pill of the antidepressant, Paxil, each day. The use of this drug improved patient memory by 20 percent and increased brain growth by 5 percent. The growth took place in the part of the brain related to learning and memory. Dr. Bremner says these findings come just in time to help the people who may develop PTSD as a result of the recent terrorism in the United States. He says, "These medications lead to a significant improvement in memory and cognition which may show it leads to brain changes in PTSD patients." Previously, animal studies have shown a beneficial effect of Paxil on memory and learning. The FDA approved the drug for the treatment of depression and social anxiety disorder. Dr. Bremner and his colleagues are in the process of studying the brain of women abused as children who develop PTSD. They also are looking at a link between PTSD and cardiovascular disease and the brain differences between a patient with PTSD who has a twin without the disorder. Results of the Paxil study will be presented at the upcoming Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in November. SOURCE: Interview with J. Douglas Bremner, M.D., Sept. 19, 2001 Click here if you would like to receive a FREE weekly e-mail on Medical Breakthroughs. |