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Curative Drug Treatments for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: A Systematic Review of the Effectiveness of Recent Treatments

Received: 17 March 2022    Accepted: 13 April 2022    Published: 10 May 2022
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Abstract

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a severe anxiety disorder with clinical and social repercussions. The first line of treatment is psychotherapy, but the most advanced forms require, in addition, a drug treatment. Currently, the treatments used are few in number and not very effective. The objective is to review the recent literature on curative drug treatments for PTSD. We conducted a literature review on the Medline database to include articles less than 10 years old dealing with curative drug treatments for PTSD. We identified inclusion and exclusion criteria to frame our research. We first selected articles by reading the title, then the abstract, and finally the full text. Each clinical study was placed in a table with its main characteristics and then analyzed in order to determine the effectiveness of the treatment studied. 51 references were included. Beta-blockers, corticosteroids and D-cycloserine show positive results in combination with various psychotherapy methods. Antiepileptics, oxytocin, atypical antipsychotics and prazosin showed divergent results. The use of prazosin, currently used to treat PTSD-induced sleep disorders, is being questioned. Ketamine, MDMA and cannabinoids have shown satisfactory results in terms of efficacy, but the question of their safety of use remains. The risks of overdose and illegal use should not be overlooked. Molecules such as ketamine, MDMA or cannabinoids will require further studies to conclude their efficacy and safety. They appear to be the most promising molecules currently available for the treatment of PTSD.

Published in American Journal of Internal Medicine (Volume 10, Issue 3)
DOI 10.11648/j.ajim.20221003.12
Page(s) 39-50
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

PTSD, Pharmacotherapy, Psychotherapy, Treatment, Drug

References
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Cyril Coquemont, Cyril Georges, Bernard Massoubre, Catherine Massoubre, Caroline Boulliat. (2022). Curative Drug Treatments for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: A Systematic Review of the Effectiveness of Recent Treatments. American Journal of Internal Medicine, 10(3), 39-50. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajim.20221003.12

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    ACS Style

    Cyril Coquemont; Cyril Georges; Bernard Massoubre; Catherine Massoubre; Caroline Boulliat. Curative Drug Treatments for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: A Systematic Review of the Effectiveness of Recent Treatments. Am. J. Intern. Med. 2022, 10(3), 39-50. doi: 10.11648/j.ajim.20221003.12

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    AMA Style

    Cyril Coquemont, Cyril Georges, Bernard Massoubre, Catherine Massoubre, Caroline Boulliat. Curative Drug Treatments for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: A Systematic Review of the Effectiveness of Recent Treatments. Am J Intern Med. 2022;10(3):39-50. doi: 10.11648/j.ajim.20221003.12

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ajim.20221003.12,
      author = {Cyril Coquemont and Cyril Georges and Bernard Massoubre and Catherine Massoubre and Caroline Boulliat},
      title = {Curative Drug Treatments for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: A Systematic Review of the Effectiveness of Recent Treatments},
      journal = {American Journal of Internal Medicine},
      volume = {10},
      number = {3},
      pages = {39-50},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajim.20221003.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajim.20221003.12},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajim.20221003.12},
      abstract = {Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a severe anxiety disorder with clinical and social repercussions. The first line of treatment is psychotherapy, but the most advanced forms require, in addition, a drug treatment. Currently, the treatments used are few in number and not very effective. The objective is to review the recent literature on curative drug treatments for PTSD. We conducted a literature review on the Medline database to include articles less than 10 years old dealing with curative drug treatments for PTSD. We identified inclusion and exclusion criteria to frame our research. We first selected articles by reading the title, then the abstract, and finally the full text. Each clinical study was placed in a table with its main characteristics and then analyzed in order to determine the effectiveness of the treatment studied. 51 references were included. Beta-blockers, corticosteroids and D-cycloserine show positive results in combination with various psychotherapy methods. Antiepileptics, oxytocin, atypical antipsychotics and prazosin showed divergent results. The use of prazosin, currently used to treat PTSD-induced sleep disorders, is being questioned. Ketamine, MDMA and cannabinoids have shown satisfactory results in terms of efficacy, but the question of their safety of use remains. The risks of overdose and illegal use should not be overlooked. Molecules such as ketamine, MDMA or cannabinoids will require further studies to conclude their efficacy and safety. They appear to be the most promising molecules currently available for the treatment of PTSD.},
     year = {2022}
    }
    

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    T1  - Curative Drug Treatments for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: A Systematic Review of the Effectiveness of Recent Treatments
    AU  - Cyril Coquemont
    AU  - Cyril Georges
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    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajim.20221003.12
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    JF  - American Journal of Internal Medicine
    JO  - American Journal of Internal Medicine
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    SN  - 2330-4324
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    AB  - Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a severe anxiety disorder with clinical and social repercussions. The first line of treatment is psychotherapy, but the most advanced forms require, in addition, a drug treatment. Currently, the treatments used are few in number and not very effective. The objective is to review the recent literature on curative drug treatments for PTSD. We conducted a literature review on the Medline database to include articles less than 10 years old dealing with curative drug treatments for PTSD. We identified inclusion and exclusion criteria to frame our research. We first selected articles by reading the title, then the abstract, and finally the full text. Each clinical study was placed in a table with its main characteristics and then analyzed in order to determine the effectiveness of the treatment studied. 51 references were included. Beta-blockers, corticosteroids and D-cycloserine show positive results in combination with various psychotherapy methods. Antiepileptics, oxytocin, atypical antipsychotics and prazosin showed divergent results. The use of prazosin, currently used to treat PTSD-induced sleep disorders, is being questioned. Ketamine, MDMA and cannabinoids have shown satisfactory results in terms of efficacy, but the question of their safety of use remains. The risks of overdose and illegal use should not be overlooked. Molecules such as ketamine, MDMA or cannabinoids will require further studies to conclude their efficacy and safety. They appear to be the most promising molecules currently available for the treatment of PTSD.
    VL  - 10
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Author Information
  • Desgenettes Army Teaching Hospital, Lyon, France

  • Desgenettes Army Teaching Hospital, Lyon, France

  • Department of Pharmacy, Desgenettes Army Teaching Hospital, Lyon, France

  • Psychiatry Unit, University Hospital Center, North Hospital, Saint-étienne, France

  • Department of Pharmacy, Desgenettes Army Teaching Hospital, Lyon, France

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