Post Traumatic Stress Disorder News and Research

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Veterans research indicates mantrams can control post-traumatic stress disorder

Repeating mantrams can help control the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, have a calming effect in traffic and even ease the boredom of exercise, according to a study in the latest issue of Journal of Advanced Nursing.

6 Mar 2006

One third of soldiers returning from Iraq have mental health problems

According to a new study, as many as one-third of U.S. military personnel in the war in Iraq received mental health services following their return home, and one in every ten were diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

1 Mar 2006

Study provides new evidence of the importance of reward pathways in the brain

Deleting a specific gene in the brain has the same effect that antidepressants do in mice that have been conditioned to be depressed, report researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center.

24 Feb 2006

Reactivating a specific memory does not affect associated or related memories

Researchers at a trio of universities have found that reactivating a specific memory does not affect associated or related memories, adding to our understanding of how memories are stored and influenced.

16 Feb 2006

Study provides animal model of depression

A Florida State University scientist used a gene transfer technique to block the expression of a gene associated with clinical depression in a new study of mice that could lead to better treatment of human beings with this condition.

14 Feb 2006

Study supports a flexible approach to methadone dosing

Methadone has been used for more than 30 years as a treatment for heroin addicts. Doctors have all along struggled to find the best doses to help patients overcome their heroin cravings without getting them used to higher levels of methadone (itself an dependence-forming substance) than necessary.

7 Feb 2006

SSRIs most effective in treating post-traumatic stress disorder

A variety of medications can help reduce the core symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as well as reduce associated depression and disability, but selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) should be considered as first line agents as there is most evidence showing that these can be effective.

25 Jan 2006

Bidirectional behavioral plasticity of memory reconsolidation depends on amygdalar protein kinase A

When activated, a specific protein in the brain enhances long-term storage of fearful memories and strengthens previously established fearful memories, Yale School of Medicine researchers report this week in Nature Neuroscience.

23 Jan 2006

Long-term stress can impair short-term memory

Researchers believe that this occurs because constant stress affects an area of the brain necessary for learning and memory, and the underlying mechanisms for this may also be to blame in more serious ailments, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and severe depression.

15 Dec 2005

Orbitofrontal thickness, retention of fear extinction, and extraversion

The relationship between the size of a brain structure and the ability to recover from traumatic experiences also may influence overall personality type, according to a study from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers.

28 Nov 2005

Scientists discover gene which controls fear

Scientists have discovered the existence of a gene that appears to control whether fear reactions to impending danger are appropriate or not.

20 Nov 2005

Black women with chronic pain experience more psychological distress

Black women with chronic pain experience more psychological distress, physical impairments and post-traumatic stress disorder than white women with chronic pain, a finding that researchers say should help lead to a narrowing of the gap in the treatment of chronic pain between black and white women.

17 Oct 2005

Heart attack patients run an increased risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder

This may lead to a vicious cycle, with the PTSD associated with heart disease harming the patient's future cardiac heath, according to the study in the current issue of Psychosomatic Medicine.

26 Sep 2005

Heart disease patients face greater risk of PTSD

Heart attack patients, and most likely those with other forms of heart disease, run an increased risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder, says a new research review done in Denmark and the Netherlands.

22 Sep 2005

Recommendation that parents limit television viewing of Katrina disaster for children under 12 years of age

The devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina have been felt across the country during the past weeks. Thousands of children are survivors of Katrina, while millions of others around the country have observed horrific sights via media coverage.

10 Sep 2005

Stress leads to drugs, leads to more stress and more drugs - part of a vicious cycle

According to a new Australian study, opiate drugs such as morphine have been found to leave animals more vulnerable to stress, and this could mean stress and opiates are caught in a vicious cycle.

1 Sep 2005

Opiate drugs such as morphine leave animals more vulnerable to stress

A new study has found that opiate drugs such as morphine leave animals more vulnerable to stress. This means that stress and opiates are in a vicious cycle: Not only does stress trigger drug use, but in return the drug leaves animals more vulnerable to stress.

30 Aug 2005

Psychiatric disorders represent an independent risk factor for delay in cancer diagnosis

Patients with psychiatric disorders are diagnosed with esophageal cancer much later and at a more advanced stage than patients with no psychiatric diagnosis, according to a study conducted by researchers in the Oregon Health & Science University Digestive Health Center.

15 Aug 2005

More than one fourth of individuals with severe mental illness (SMI) were victims of violent crime in the past year

...eleven times the rate in the general population, according to a study in the August issue of Archives of General Psychiatry.

1 Aug 2005

Beta-blockers 'blot out memories' for sufferers with post-traumatic stress disorder

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) affects around one in three of people caught up in such events, as the London bombings, and memories can be triggered just by a sound or smell.

29 Jul 2005