Posttraumatic Stress Disorder/Complex PTSD

Anxiety disorders are frequently under-diagnosed conditions in primary care, although they can be managed effectively by general practitioners.|This paper is a short and practical summary of the World Federation of Biological Psychiatry (WFSBP) guidelines for the pharmacological treatment of anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) for the treatment in primary care. The recommendations were developed by a task force of 30 international experts in the field and are based on randomized controlled studies.|First-line pharmacological treatments for these disorders are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (for all disorders), serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (for some) and pregabalin (for generalized anxiety disorder only). A combination of medication and cognitive behavior/exposure therapy was shown to be a clinically desired treatment strategy.|This short version of an evidence-based guideline may improve treatment of

Exposure to traumatic stress is associated with increased risk for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and alterations of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) function. Research linking traumatic stress with HPA function in PTSD has been inconsistent, however, in part due to (a) the inclusion of trauma-exposed individuals without PTSD (TE) in control groups and (b) a failure to consider comorbid major depressive disorder (MDD) and moderating variables. This meta-analysis of 47 studies (123 effect sizes, N=6008 individuals) revealed that daily cortisol output was lower for PTSD (d=-.36, SE=.15, p=.008) and PTSD+MDD (d=-.65, SE=.25, p=.008) groups relative to no trauma controls (NTC); TE and NTC groups did not differ significantly from each other. Afternoon/evening cortisol was lower in TE (d=-.25, SE=.09, p=.007) and PTSD (d=-.27, SE=.12, p=.021) groups and higher in PTSD+MDD groups (d=.49, SE=.24, p=.041) relative to NTC. Post-DST cortisol levels were lower in PTSD (d=-.40, SE=

Literature on mothers' acceptance of their children's tube feeding is heterogeneous. When a child is fed via gastrostomy, parents may report higher quality of life and higher stress levels. Qualitative research suggests that tube feeding can conflict with fundamental expectations about the mothering role. In this qualitative meta-analysis, parental statements from various studies have been excerpted and theory-based analyzed. Data suggest that feeding a child orally is not only an important aspect of mothering but also a key element for the development of a motherhood identity. Nonoral feeding often results in psychological stress and a struggle to negotiate the motherhood identity successfully and may result in traumatization of the mother. Preventive psychological guidance is recommended to decrease the risk of posttraumatic stress disorder in mothers and disturbances in the mother-child relationship and to assist in maternal coping with a child's feeding disorder.

We sought to estimate the pooled current prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among rescue workers and to determine the variables implicated in the heterogeneity observed among the prevalences of individual studies.|A systematic review covering studies reporting on the PTSD prevalence in rescue teams was conducted following four sequential steps: (1) research in specialized online databases, (2) review of abstracts and selection of studies, (3) review of reference list, and (4) contact with authors and experts. Prevalence data from all studies were pooled using random effects model. Multivariate meta-regression models were fitted to identify variables related to the prevalences heterogeneity.|A total of 28 studies, reporting on 40 samples with 20,424 rescuers, were selected. The worldwide pooled current prevalence was 10%. Meta-regression modeling in studies carried out in the Asian continent had, on average, higher estimated prevalences than those from Europe, but not

Studies of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) prevalence associated with deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan report wide variability, making interpretation and projection for research and public health purposes difficult. This article placed this literature within a military context. Studies were categorized according to deployment time-frame, screening case definition, and study group (operational infantry units exposed to direct combat versus population samples with a high proportion of support personnel). Precision weighted averages were calculated using a fixed-effects meta-analysis. Using a specific case definition, the weighted postdeployment PTSD prevalence was 5.5% (95% CI, 5.4-5.6) in population samples and 13.2% (12.8-13.7) in operational infantry units. Both population-level and unit-specific studies provided valuable and unique information for public health purposes; understanding the military context is essential for interpreting prevalence studies.

Research has established that psychiatric disorders are common among children and adolescents within thejuvenile justice system. However, the bulk of these researches had been from the developed countries, with very limited data from sub-Sahara Africa. In a region like sub-Sahara Africa with acute shortage of mental healthcare resources, availability of data on mental health needs of children within the juvenile justice system is about the only way to ensure that they are not excluded from needed services. This study aims to determine the pattern, prevalence and correlates of psychiatric disorders among the residents of a juvenile justice facility in Nigeria and to speculate appropriate policy responses.|Using a cross-sectional comparative study design, 60 consecutive residents of the Ibadan juvenile Remand home and 60 randomly selected age- and gender-matched school going adolescents were evaluated for the presence of current and lifetime psychiatric disorders. The Kiddies Schedule

The effectiveness of D-cycloserine (DCS), an N-methyl-D-aspartate glutamate receptor partial agonist, and valproic acid (VPA), a histone deacetylase inhibitor, in facilitating the extinction of fear-conditioned memory has been explored in humans and animals. Here, we confirmed whether DCS (100 mg) and VPA (400 mg) act in off-line learning processes during sleep or waking, for further clinical application to anxiety disorders and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). We performed a randomized, blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial in 90 healthy adults. Visual cues and electric shocks were used as the conditioned stimulus (CS) and unconditioned stimulus (US), respectively. The extinction effect was observed not in simple recall after the extinction of coupled CS-US, but was observed in the post-re-exposure phase after unexpected re-exposure to reinstatement CS-US coupling. Newly acquired conditioned fear was also eliminated or habituated by DCS and VPA administration, in line with

Emotional learning is extremely important for the survival of an individual. However, once acquired, emotional associations are not always expressed. The regulation of emotional responses under different environmental conditions is essential for mental health. Indeed, pathologic feelings of fear and anxiety are defining features of many serious psychiatric illness, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and specific phobias. The simplest form of regulation of emotional responses is extinction, in which the conditioned response to a stimulus decreases when reinforcement (stimulus) is omitted. In addition to modulating basal anxiety states, recent studies suggest an important role for the endocannabinoid (eCB) and glucocorticoid systems in the modulation of emotional states and extinction of aversive memories in animals. The purpose of this review is to briefly outline the animal models of fear extinction and to describe how these have been used to examine the potential of

We determined the factors associated with hepatitis C (HCV) infection among rural Appalachian drug users.|This study included 394 injection drug users (IDUs) participating in a study of social networks and infectious disease risk in Appalachian Kentucky. Trained staff conducted HCV, HIV, and herpes simplex-2 virus (HSV-2) testing, and an interviewer-administered questionnaire measured self-reported risk behaviors and sociometric network characteristics.|The prevalence of HCV infection was 54.6% among rural IDUs. Lifetime factors independently associated with HCV infection included HSV-2, injecting for 5 or more years, posttraumatic stress disorder, injection of cocaine, and injection of prescription opioids. Recent (past-6-month) correlates of HCV infection included sharing of syringes (adjusted odds ratio = 2.24; 95% confidence interval = 1.32, 3.82) and greater levels of eigenvector centrality in the drug network.|One factor emerged that was potentially unique to rural IDUs: the

Pathophysiological regulation of the stress response involves a number of complex interactions at the organismal, cellular and molecular levels. A salient feature of the stress response is the activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. Molecular studies of this phenomenon have found a number of genes which are differentially expressed in stressed individuals and control subjects. The transcription factor NF-kappaB controls many of these genes, which is evidence of the key role it plays in the cellular stress response. Stress upregulates a number of genes such as the transcription factor genes that control cell growth, chromatin structure, cell cycle activation and enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of nucleic acids and proteins. The genes that are down-regulated in stress are cell cycle inhibitors, apoptosis related genes, antiproliferative cytokines and Apo J, the NF-kappaB inhibitor. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder which develops as a

NGC is the National Guideline Clearinghouse.

CONNECTIVITY PROBLEM:. Try again later. Search. Clinical Information. The human suffering that followed the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, is a grim reminder of the impact of PTSD on the ... Not surprisingly, PTSD is a worldwide disorder

NGC is the National Guideline Clearinghouse.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a complex and chronic disorder that causes substantial distress and interferes with social and educational functioning. Consequently, identifying the risk factors that make a child more likely to experience traumatic distress is of academic, clinical and social importance. This meta-analysis estimated the population effect sizes of 25 potential risk factors for PTSD in children and adolescents aged 6-18 years across 64 studies (N=32,238). Medium to large effect sizes were shown for many factors relating to subjective experience of the event and post-trauma variables (low social support, peri-trauma fear, perceived life threat, social withdrawal, comorbid psychological problem, poor family functioning, distraction, PTSD at time 1, and thought suppression); whereas pre-trauma variables and more objective measures of the assumed severity of the event generated small to medium effect sizes. This indicates that subjective peri-trauma factors and post

After exposure to traumatic stressors, a subgroup of survivors (20-30%) will develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).|Since the incidence and prevalence rates for PTSD in the community are significant, it is important that general practitioners and psychiatrists be familiar with possible therapeutic options. In this review we shall look at the published evidence about the effectiveness of psychological treatments for PTSD.|The psychopathological mechanisms involved in PTSD are discussed. Studies of the effectiveness of different psychological therapies are reviewed.|The review suggests that persistent fear or shame reactions are key aspects of PTSD. Evidence from systematic reviews suggests that psychotherapeutic treatments are effective in the therapy of reactions based on fear, and may increase the effectiveness of pharmacological therapy. There is less systematic evidence for the efficacy of interventions for symptoms based on shame.|Although a proportion of patients with