Drugs Could Block Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
If a person goes through a severely traumatic experience, such as an automobile accident or criminal assault, he can develop post-traumatic stress syndrome, a debilitating mental disorder that is difficult to overcome. However, if the same person receives a drug immediately after the trauma, he can reduce his chances of post-traumatic stress syndrome by nearly one half.
In a new study by Dr. Joseph Zohar of Tel Aviv University in Israel, patients who got an injection of cortisone within six hours of their trauma were 60% less likely to develop the syndrome. Cortisone is a steroid hormone released by the adrenal glands in times of stress.
Dr. Zohar had first tried cortisone injections on laboratory rats who had been exposed to trauma before he experimented with it on patients who were being treated in emergency rooms. Half the patients in his study received cortisone injections and the other half received placebos. Dr. Zohar reassessed the participants in the study two weeks, one month, and three months later to determine if cortisone did indeed reduce the likelihood of posttraumatic stress syndrome. He found that if they received cortisone soon after the trauma, it was an effective preventive measure.
Dr. Zohar noted that doctors usually give traumatized patients Valium or Xanax, which act as sedatives to calm them down, but these drugs interfere with the body's recovery process and actually inhibit the natural flow of cortisone.
Dr. Zohar's study, published in Psychology Central, was one of 552 clinical trials funded by the National Institutes of Health on posttraumatic stress syndrome. Fifteen of these studies involve the drug propranolol. Canadian doctors at McGill University who gave patients that drug after trauma found that it lowered the emotions surrounding the patients' memories of the events but only if it was administered within six hours. Propranolol is commonly used to lower high blood pressure.
Neuroethicist Dr. Adam Kolber of the Brooklyn Law school believes the use of medications like cortisone and propranolol are justifiable if the patients can make informed consents about their use.
"Dampening the emotional edges of these awful memories could help a lot of people," he said. "The issue is public acceptance of drugs that exhibit this flattening effect."
Dr. Kolber said that victims of violent crimes are able to recall the events if these drugs are used. In fact, they may be able to remember events better if the emotions associated with a memory are blunted.
Use of drugs to block memory nevertheless remains controversial. Theologian Gilbert Meilaender of Valparaiso University in Indiana said, "Memories are central to the story of a person's life and to our sense of who we are. Moving ahead on research to suppress them without first reflecting on its implications for personal identity contributes to the medicalization of human problems. Discussion about possible regulation should come first, not last."
Many would argue that it is a moot point because the drugs offered to trauma victims have not been thoroughly tested and have not been proven effective. As Dr. Roger Pitman of Harvard Medical School commented, "I just don't think it is practical yet."
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