Post Traumatic Stress Disorder News and Research

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New study sheds 'light' on intricate brain cell connections responsible for anxiety

A new study sheds light--both literally and figuratively--on the intricate brain cell connections responsible for anxiety.

10 Mar 2011

Article sheds new light on neural mechanisms for flashbacks

Flashbacks are an elusive phenomenon, but an article published in the current issue of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics sheds some new light on potential mechanisms in an healthy man with an history of near drawing.

7 Mar 2011

PACAP hormone levels linked to post-traumatic stress disorder

High blood levels of a hormone produced in response to stress are linked to post-traumatic stress disorder in women but not men, a study from researchers at Emory University and the University of Vermont has found.

25 Feb 2011

Biological pathways in PTSD revealed: Study

Up to 20% of the population exposed to a horror of a war, trauma or abuse may go on to develop post-traumatic stress disorder. PTSD, as it is better known, is a debilitating psychiatric disorder marked by flashbacks and nightmares. Till date the biological basis for PTSD was unclear. But a new study offers clues about why some people rebound from horrific events while others relive them, and may lead to predictive tests and even treatments.

23 Feb 2011

Virtual reality exposure therapy reduces PTSD symptoms in active military service members

An article published in a forthcoming issue of the Journal of Traumatic Stress is one of the first to provide evidence of the effectiveness of exposure therapy with active duty military service members suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The study shows that virtual reality exposure therapy resulted in significant reductions in PTSD symptoms after an average of seven treatment sessions. Additionally, 62 % of patients reported clinically meaningful, reliable change in PTSD symptoms.

17 Feb 2011

Research roundup: Access to care in Mass.; Mental health spending; Gender and medical debt: How much do Americans know about health law?

Health Affairs: Lack Of Access Due To Costs Remains A Problem For Some In Massachusetts Despite The State's Health Reforms - Based on an analysis of state data, the authors found that the percentage of people without insurance fell "to twelve-year lows in Massachusetts, from 11.5 percent (SE 0.91) in 1996 to 3.5 percent (SE 0.33) in 2008.

11 Feb 2011

Study discovers similarities between child soldier trauma in Uganda and children in Northern Ireland

Psychology students at Queen's University have discovered similarities between child soldier trauma in Uganda and those children caught up in Northern Ireland's Troubles.

11 Feb 2011

Researchers find 2 neural pathways that play role in developing phobias

Why do some people fret over the most trivial matters while others remain calm in the face of calamity? Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have identified two different chinks in our brain circuitry that explain why some of us are more prone to anxiety.

11 Feb 2011

Repligen third quarter total revenue increases 26% to $7,068,000

Repligen Corporation today reported results for the third quarter of fiscal year 2011, ended December 31, 2010. Total revenue for the quarter was $7,068,000 compared to total revenue of $5,617,000 for the third quarter of fiscal year 2010 ended December 31, 2009, an increase of $1,451,000 or 26%.

9 Feb 2011

AcademyHealth recognizes military health research study with 2011 HSR Impact Award

AcademyHealth today recognized research that improves access to behavioral health care for returning U.S. service members with the 2011 Health Services Research Impact Award.

9 Feb 2011

Urocortin system plays central role in regulating stress responses

Post-traumatic stress disorder can affect soldiers after combat or ordinary people who have undergone harrowing experiences. Of course, feelings of anxiety are normal and even desirable - they are part of what helps us survive in a world of real threats. But no less crucial is the return to normal - the slowing of the heartbeat and relaxation of tension - after the threat has passed.

9 Feb 2011

Software can predict future of sports concussion: New research

With the Pittsburgh Steelers and Green Bay Packers poised to do battle for the Super Bowl XLV crown, concern about recognizing and minimizing the incidence of concussions in sports could once again be back in the spotlight. Media coverage of concussion awareness rose to a fever pitch earlier this season fueled by an Associated Press report that this type of traumatic brain injury (TBI) had risen 21 percent in the first eight weeks of the regular season.

1 Feb 2011

Sleep on it to remember it better: Study

A new study says that the best way to remember something important is to remember it while you are asleep. The research, led by Bjorn Rasch of the University of Basel in Switzerland says that newly learned memories during sleep rather than when awake does a better job of strengthening the memory trace. This could help people with disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) feel researchers.

24 Jan 2011

MGH research sheds light on mechanisms of action of mindfulness-based training

Participating in an 8-week mindfulness meditation program appears to make measurable changes in brain regions associated with memory, sense of self, empathy and stress. In a study that will appear in the January 30 issue of Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging, a team led by Massachusetts General Hospital researchers report the results of their study, the first to document meditation-produced changes over time in the brain's grey matter.

24 Jan 2011

Repligen enters exclusive license agreement with UCI for use of HDAC3 inhibitors for memory disorders

Repligen Corporation announced today that it has entered into an exclusive license agreement with the University of California, Irvine (UCI) for a patent application covering the use of histone deacetylase 3 (HDAC3) inhibitors for the treatment of disorders involving preservation or extinction of memory including Alzheimer's disease, memory impairment and post traumatic stress disorder.

21 Jan 2011

Prevention of awareness during anesthesia

Out of every 1000 patients, two at most wake up during their operation. Unintended awareness in the patient is thus classified as an occasional complication of anesthesia—but being aware of things happening during the operation, and being able to recall them later, can leave a patient with long-term psychological trauma.

20 Jan 2011

Research identifies childhood traumatic stress as potential risk factor for obesity in adulthood

Scientific studies often attribute obesity to poor nutrition and lack of activity, but recent research has identified childhood traumatic stress as a potential risk factor for obesity in adulthood.

19 Jan 2011

Noncombatant military personnel at greater risk of developing PTSD

Noncombatant military personnel do not engage in direct combat with the enemy during war, but they still face trauma that elevates their risk for developing combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), new research shows.

14 Jan 2011

7,8-Dihydroxyflavone holds potential for treatment of fear based disorders

Living a traumatic experience favours the persistence of fear associated with an aversive stimulus, known as fear conditioning and such effect, in mice, can be suppressed with a single dosis of 7,8-Dihydroxyflavone, a type of flavonoid which boosts the ability to acquire new emotional learnings.

13 Jan 2011

95.6% of WTC survivors report posttraumatic stress symptoms

Nearly 10 years after the greatest human-made disaster in U.S. history-- the destruction of the World Trade Center (WTC) towers -- there has been little research documenting the attacks' consequences among those most directly affected -- the survivors who escaped the World Trade Center towers.

10 Jan 2011