Post Traumatic Stress Disorder News and Research

RSS

WHO and UNHCR jointly issue new guide to better identify, manage mental health needs

Worldwide close to 80 million people are currently impacted by humanitarian emergencies arising from natural disasters and armed conflicts, such as those in the Central African Republic, South Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, Yemen, and more recently, Nepal. WHO estimates 5% to 10% of these people suffer from a mental health condition such as depression as a result of the emergency.

5 May 2015

Johns Hopkins study finds that nearly one-quarter of ICU survivors experience PTSD

Post-traumatic stress disorder is often thought of as a symptom of warfare, major catastrophes and assault. It’s rarely considered in patients who survive a critical illness and stay in the intensive care unit (ICU). However, in a recent Johns Hopkins study, researchers found that nearly one-quarter of ICU survivors suffer from PTSD.

24 Apr 2015

World Veterans Federation supports approved technology for tinnitus relief among veterans

TINNITUS, a debilitating "ringing in the ears", has become the No. 1 service- connected disability among veterans, surpassing post-traumatic stress disorder.

22 Apr 2015

Study attributes mild cognitive defects in women to post-traumatic stress induced by cancer diagnosis

Breast cancer patients often display mild cognitive defects even before the initiation of chemotherapy. A new study by Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet in Munich researchers now attributes the syndrome to post-traumatic stress induced by diagnosis of the disease.

21 Apr 2015

Nearly one-quarter of ICU survivors experience PTSD

Post-traumatic stress disorder is often thought of as a symptom of warfare, major catastrophes and assault. It's rarely considered in patients who survive a critical illness and stay in the intensive care unit (ICU).

21 Apr 2015

Tonix expert examines ways to improve sleep problems and provide relief to people with PTSD

Sleep problems—a common condition among military personnel—may increase the risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other mental health conditions. So concludes a team of researchers at the RAND Corporation, whose study—published on RAND's website—was recently described in national media outlets.

17 Apr 2015

RAND report examines sleep problems in U.S. military members

Improving the quality and quantity of U.S. military members' sleep following deployment could help reduce other health problems, including depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, according to a new RAND Corporation study.

8 Apr 2015

Researchers test effects of light therapy on brain function

Following up on promising results from pilot work, researchers at the VA Boston Healthcare System are testing the effects of light therapy on brain function in veterans with Gulf War Illness.

3 Apr 2015

Scientists use special MRI imaging to predict chronic pain, disability and PTSD after whiplash injury

While most people should expect to fully recover from whiplash injuries within the first few months, about 25 percent have long-term pain and disability that lasts many months or years.

2 Apr 2015

Screening people at risk of PTSD can help prevent further cases going unnoticed

When people have repeated non-specific health problems, it could be related to previous exposure to traumatic events. GPs may be seeing more patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as military personnel return from overseas deployments.

1 Apr 2015

New analysis raises questions about common use of antidepressant drugs for anxiety disorders

A new analysis reported in JAMA Psychiatry raises serious questions about the increasingly common use of second-generation antidepressant drugs to treat anxiety disorders.

31 Mar 2015

New Johns Hopkins mobile app educates care providers on improving sleep, overall health of patients

Experts from the Johns Hopkins Center for Sleep hope to help patients get a better night’s sleep by providing health care staff members with a basic educational tool on their smartphones.

31 Mar 2015

Blueberries may be effective in treatment for PTSD

Up to 8 percent of people in the U.S. suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as the result of witnessing or being the victim of a traumatic event. People with PTSD have been in a situation in which they were at risk of death, serious injury or sexual violence or have seen first-hand loved ones faces such threats. They may experience flashbacks, emotional detachment and jumpiness, among other symptoms that affect their ability to function in everyday life.

30 Mar 2015

Veterans with PTSD at higher risk of developing heart failure

In a study of more than 8,000 veterans living in Hawaii and the Pacific Islands, those with posttraumatic stress disorder had a nearly 50 percent greater risk of developing heart failure over about a seven-year follow-up period, compared with their non-PTSD peers.

27 Mar 2015

Sympathetic nerve block shows no major benefit for PTSD in randomized controlled trial

A sympathetic nerve block that has shown promise for treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) performed no better than sham treatment in a randomized controlled trial, new research shows.

25 Mar 2015

New research initiative seeks to speed up implementation of health care policy for women veterans

As more women veterans seek health care in the Veterans Administration system, effective approaches are needed to ensure that their unique needs are recognized and met. A special April supplement to Medical Care collects new studies from an ongoing research initiative to inform health care policy for women veterans.

17 Mar 2015

Research findings offer new insights into pathophysiology of PTSD

Researchers at the Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System and University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, with colleagues in New York and the United Kingdom, have identified genetic markers, derived from blood samples that are linked to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The markers are associated with gene networks that regulate innate immune function and interferon signaling.

11 Mar 2015

Early symptoms of post-traumatic stress strongly predict later disability in military personnel

Evaluating military personnel with blast-related mild traumatic brain injuries, researchers have found that early symptoms of post-traumatic stress, such as anxiety, emotional numbness, flashbacks and irritability, are the strongest predictors of later disability.

5 Mar 2015

GeneSight test better predicts antidepressant outcomes for patients with depression

The combinatorial, multi-gene GeneSight test has been found to better predict antidepressant treatment outcomes for patients with depression, and their use of health care resources, than any of the individual genes that comprise the test, according to a peer-reviewed analysis by investigators from the Mayo Clinic and Assurex Health, and published online by The Pharmacogenomics Journal.