Imagine that you have been in combat and that you have watched your closest friend die in front of you.
The memory of that event may stay with you, troubling you for the rest of your life. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is among the most common and disabling psychiatric casualties of combat and other extremely stressful situations. People suffering from PTSD often suffer from vivid intrusive memories of their traumas. Current medications are often ineffective in controlling these symptoms and so novel treatments are needed urgently. In the February 1st issue of Biological Psychiatry , published by Elsevier, a group of basic scientists shed new light on the biology of stress effects upon memory formation. In so doing, they suggest new approaches to the treatment of the distress related to traumatic memories. Their work is based on the study of a drug, RU38486, that blocks the effects of the stress hormone cortisol.