Prazosin PTSD

BACKGROUND: Preclinical and clinical research suggest that the α1 receptor antagonist prazosin reduces alcohol consumption. Furthermore, clinical studies indicate a role for prazosin in treating Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms and a recent trial suggested that pre-treatment blood pressure (BP) predicts therapeutic response for prazosin in PTSD patients. Whether pre-treatment BP may predict response to α1 blockers in alcohol-dependent (AD) patients is unknown. We previously reported a randomized controlled trial (RCT) where doxazosin, an α1 receptor antagonist with a more favorable pharmacokinetic profile than prazosin, reduced drinks per week (DPW) and heavy drinking days (HDD) in AD patients with a high family history density of alcoholism...

BACKGROUND: Clinical guidelines for the management of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) recommend against the use of benzodiazepines. Benzodiazepines and PTSD are both associated with addiction-related risks. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) prescribing trends show continued use of benzodiazepines and polysedative use in veterans with PTSD, particularly in rural areas. The authors examine the use of an educational intervention to improve pharmacologic management of veterans with PTSD in rural clinics...

This study tested whether sleep medications prescribed to veterans diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are being targeted to patients who report more severe insomnia or nightmares. Secondary analysis of survey and pharmacy data was conducted in samples of veterans from two periods: from 2006 to 2008 and from 2009 to 2013. Logistic regression tested associations between self-reported insomnia and nightmare severity, and being prescribed trazodone, prazosin, zolpidem, and benzodiazepines, controlling for PTSD severity and other covariates...

The effectiveness of medications for PTSD in general has been well studied, but the effectiveness of medicatio.ns prescribed specifically for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) nightmares is less well known. This retrospective chart review examined the efficacy of various medications used in actual treatment of PTSD nightmares at one Veteran Affairs Hospital. Records at the Salem, VA Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) were examined from 2009 to 2013 to check for the efficacy of actual treatments used in comparis...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Nightmares associated with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are a hallmark symptom among U.S. military veterans who have seen combat. Management of combat-related nightmares can be difficult and current pharmacologic options are limited and tend to have adverse side effects. The aim of this review is to explore recent literature regarding the efficacy of prazosin for the treatment of nightmare disorder in the veteran population. METHODS: Recent literature consisting of three systematic reviews was reviewed, as well as current clinical guidelines published by The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and The Department of Defense (DoD) and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM)...

BACKGROUND: The aim of this systematic review was to identify published articles that evaluated the use of prazosin for treating nightmares in children and adolescents who have posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). PROCEDURES: A literature search was conducted of PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Collaboration, and PsycINFO databases for published articles in any language that evaluated the use of prazosin for treating nightmares in the context of PTSD in children and adolescents using the following key words: PTSD, nightmares, prazosin, children, adolescents, trauma, and sleep...

OBJECTIVE: To consolidate the evidence from the literature to evaluate the role of prazosin in the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). DATA SOURCES: Major databases, including PubMed, Ovid EMBASE, Ovid Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Ovid Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Ovid PsycINFO, and Scopus, were searched through August 2015 for studies reporting the role of prazosin in the treatment of PTSD with no language constraints...

BACKGROUND: Prazosin is significantly effective to reduce sleep disturbance and trauma nightmare in patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD); however, results of different studies were evaluated. OBJECTIVES: The current randomized clinical trial aimed to assess the effects of prazosin on sleep parameters and nightmares among veterans with chronic PTSD. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty-two veterans with chronic war-induced PTSD and distressing nightmares were randomized into prazosin and placebo groups for eight weeks...

BACKGROUND: The pharmacological treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is extremely challenging, as no specific agent has been developed exclusively to treat this disorder. Thus, there are growing concerns among the public, providers and consumers associated with its use as the efficacy of some agents is still in question. AIMS: We applied a dimensional and symptom cluster-based approach to better understand how the heterogeneous phenotypic presentation of PTSD may relate to the initiation of pharmacotherapy for PTSD initial episode...

There is evidence that doxazosin is effective in the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Doxazosin is a "me-too" drug of prazosin. Doxazosin has an improved absorption profile and this likely minimizes the risk for unintended adverse hypotensive effects. The availability of doxazosin in the gastrointestinal therapeutic system (GITS) form permits a higher initial daily dose (4 mg/day) while avoiding significant first-dose side effects. The treatment of PTSD with prazosin has several disadvantages due to its short duration of action (6-8 hours), which results in multiple doses being required...

OBJECTIVE: The present review aims to assess the clinical efficacy and safety of the α-1-adrenergic antagonist prazosin as primary pharmacologic treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). METHOD: A systematic review was performed using keywords (i.e., prazosin, α-1-adrenergic antagonist, α-1-blocker, post-traumatic stress disorder) in the databases PubMed/Medline (1966-May 2016), Embase (1966-May 2016), ScienceDirect (1823-May 2016), OvidSP (1946-May 2016) and Nature (1845-May 2016)...

BACKGROUND: In a previously reported positive randomized controlled trial of the α1-adrenoreceptor (α1AR) antagonist prazosin for combat posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in 67 active duty soldiers, baseline symptoms did not predict therapeutic response. If increased brain α1AR activation in PTSD is the target of prazosin treatment action, higher brain α1AR activation should predict greater prazosin efficacy. Although brain α1AR activation is not measurable, coregulated peripheral α1AR activation could provide an estimate of brain α1AR activation...

Objective: Centrally active α-1-adrenergic-receptor antagonists such as prazosin are effective in the treatment of nightmares in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). A pharmacological alternative is doxazosin, which has a longer half-life and fewer side effects. However, doxazosin is currently being used without solid empirical evidence. Furthermore, no study so far has assessed the effects of α-1-antagonists on nightmares in patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD). We retrospectively assessed the effectiveness of doxazosin on nightmares in PTSD and BPD...

BACKGROUND: Serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors are effective first-line agents for the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but treatment is associated with a range of side effects that limit treatment adherence. Prazosin, an α1-noradrenergic antagonist with a half-life of roughly 2-3 hours, has shown promise in the treatment of sleep disturbance and nightmares. Doxazosin extended release (XL) is also an α1-noradrenergic antagonist but with a half-life of approximately 15-19 hours...

A central role for noradrenergic dysregulation in the pathophysiology of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is increasingly suggested by both clinical and basic neuroscience research. Here, we integrate recent findings from clinical and animal research with the earlier literature. We first review the evidence for net upregulation of the noradrenergic system and its responsivity to stress in individuals with PTSD. Next, we trace the evidence that the α1 noradrenergic receptor antagonist prazosin decreases many of the symptoms of PTSD from initial clinical observations, to case series, to randomized controlled trials...

Refugees are a highly traumatized and culturally diverse group of patients who present many clinical challenges. Refugees have a high prevalence of traumas from torture, ethnic cleansing, and the effects of long civil wars. The most common diagnoses associated with the effects of such traumas are posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or PTSD with comorbid depression; however, psychosis and neurocognitive disorders are also common. For those with PTSD, a suggested treatment approach is long-term supportive psychotherapy with drug treatment directed at reducing the most disruptive symptoms, such as insomnia, nightmares, and irritability or psychosis...

Substance abuse and dependence is estimated to cost roughly $700 billion annually including direct and indirect care in the United States. Drug dreams (DD), or using dreams, are a reportedly common phenomenon among patients with substance abuse, and have been postulated as triggers for relapse. Prazosin is an alpha-1 receptor antagonist originally approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of hypertension. Prazosin passes the blood brain barrier easily, contributing to central and cognitive effects...

Symptoms of sleep disturbance, particularly nightmares and insomnia, are a central feature of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Emerging evidence suggests that specific treatment of PTSD-related sleep disturbance improves other symptoms of the disorder, which in turn suggests that such disturbance may be fundamental to development and maintenance of the disorder. This mini-review focuses on pharmacological treatment of sleep disturbance in adult PTSD (specifically, studies testing the efficacy of antidepressants, adrenergic inhibiting agents, antipsychotics and benzodiazepine and non-benzodiazepine hypnotics)...

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UNLABELLED: Although sleep disturbances occur commonly in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and are associated with adverse outcomes and increased suicidality, they are often inadequately addressed by antidepressant medications. OBJECTIVE: This review aims to assess whether prazosin reduces nightmares, sleep disturbances, and illness severity in adults with PTSD. METHOD: Electronic databases (PubMed, PsycINFO) were searched in September 2014 for randomized controlled trials in adults...