Post Traumatic Stress Disorder News and Research

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Post-traumatic stress disorder 10 times higher in New Orleans

Hurricane Katrina was the most significant natural disaster to strike the United States.

17 May 2007

Virtual Iraq provides better understanding of post-traumatic stress disorder

Weill Cornell Medical College researchers are using a virtual reality simulation called "Virtual Iraq" to better understand how symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) develop.

17 May 2007

Hormones in children's saliva may indicate trauma from bullying

Hormones in children's saliva may be a biological indicator of the trauma kids undergo when they are chronically bullied by peers, according to researchers who say biological markers can aid in the early recognition and intervention of long-term psychological effects on youth.

16 May 2007

Researchers tackle traumatic brain injury

Researchers from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) are pursuing efforts to find new ways to prevent and to treat the increasing numbers of combat troops who are suffering from injuries due to traumatic brain injury (TBI).

11 May 2007

Cognitive behaviour therapy, treatment of choice for post-traumatic stress disorder

Cognitive therapy is an effective treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder related to acts of terrorism and other civil conflict, finds a study published on bmj.com.

11 May 2007

VA should revise its methods for evaluating post-traumatic stress disorder

To ensure more consistent and appropriate disability compensation for veterans, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) needs to revise how it evaluates former military personnel for service-connected post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and determines the payment amounts they merit, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine and National Research Council.

9 May 2007

Traumatic events common in children but do not typically result in post-traumatic stress symptoms

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a unique psychiatric diagnosis because it requires an initiating event, such as war, rape, natural disaster or serious illness, according to background information in the article.

8 May 2007

Migraines may be sign of post-traumatic stress for Iraq veterans

Soldiers returning from combat in Iraq who have migraine headaches are more than twice as likely to also have symptoms of post-traumatic stress, depression or anxiety than soldiers who do not have migraines, according to research presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 59th Annual Meeting in Boston.

4 May 2007

Prazosin shows promise for post traumatic stress disorder sleep disturbances

For sufferers of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), sleep disturbances are among the most treatment-resistant symptoms and can lead to drug and alcohol abuse and even suicide.

19 Apr 2007

Prazosin drug helps posttraumatic stress disorder nightmares

A generic drug already used by millions of Americans for high blood pressure and prostate problems has been found to improve sleep and lessen trauma nightmares in veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

12 Apr 2007

Clinical psychologist to discuss stress disorder and soldiers in Iraq

Clinical psychologist Katherine T. Platoni, who is a colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve Medical Service Corps, will discuss her experiences treating soldiers with post-traumatic stress disorder during active combat in Iraq Thursday, April 26, at the University of Rochester Medical Center.

12 Apr 2007

New screening tool for anxiety disorders

A new study by researchers led by Kurt Kroenke, M.D., of the Indiana University School of Medicine and the Regenstrief Institute, Inc. reports that nearly 20 percent of patients seen by primary care physicians have at least one anxiety disorder.

12 Mar 2007

President Bush appoints Dole, Shalala to lead panel examining veterans' care

President Bush during a speech before the American Legion on Tuesday named former Sen. Bob Dole (R-Kan.) and former HHS Secretary Donna Shalala as co-chairs of a commission that will examine the care that wounded veterans receive after they return from war, both at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center and at other military hospitals across the nation, the Washington Post reports

8 Mar 2007

Whether torture is physical or mental the trauma is the same

In a study which has examined forms of ill treatment during captivity, researchers have found that psychological torment and humiliation can inflict as much terror and trauma as physical torture.

6 Mar 2007

Severe stress can damage a child's brain

According to researchers in the U.S. children who suffer severe stress may also suffer damage to their brains.

5 Mar 2007

Virtual Iraq to aid traumatised soldiers and military staff

The virtual Iraq simulation, developed at the University of Southern California (USC) but now being put into practice at Reading, is "fully-immersive" and designed as part of an exposure therapy programme which allows soldiers suffering post-traumatic stress disorder to relive and confront psychological trauma - and it has produced promising results for the first handful of patients treated.

1 Mar 2007

Mood changes in response to psychosocial stress in healthy young women: effects of pretreatment with Cortisol

German researchers have found additional evidence that the stress hormone cortisol can have positive effects in certain situations.

12 Feb 2007

Children with parents in the military have higher blood pressure

Researchers looked at 121 adolescents - including 48 with civilian parents, 20 with a parent deployed to Iraq and 53 with a parent in the military but not deployed - days after Operation Iraqi Freedom was launched in March 2003 and nearly three months later when President Bush announced major hostilities had ceased.

11 Feb 2007

Posttraumatic stress disorder may increase the risk of coronary heart disease in older men

A higher level of symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder may increase the risk of coronary heart disease in older men, according to a report in the January issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry.

2 Jan 2007

Guanfacine no more effective than a placebo

Guanfacine, a medication commonly prescribed to alleviate symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, is no more effective than a placebo, according to a study led by researchers at the San Francisco VA Medical Center.

2 Dec 2006