Post-traumatic stress disorder affects about 6% of Americans at some point in life, with symptoms like intrusive memories, hypervigilance, and avoidance that persist long after trauma exposure. Current treatment centers on trauma-focused psychotherapy and antidepressants, which help many people but leave substantial room for improvement in response rates and speed of relief.
What's actually going on in research
Trials are testing MDMA-assisted therapy for treatment-resistant PTSD, psychedelics like psilocybin that may reset fear circuits, new medications targeting stress hormone systems, and brain stimulation methods. Researchers are also studying how to personalize treatment based on trauma type and symptoms, and testing briefer therapies that might reach more people.
MDMA-assisted therapy
Phase 3 trials showed that MDMA given during therapy sessions helped about two-thirds of participants with severe PTSD no longer meet diagnostic criteria. The FDA is reviewing the data for potential approval in 2024.
Psychedelic research
Psilocybin and other psychedelics are being tested to see if they can help extinguish traumatic memories and restore emotional flexibility. Early results suggest rapid symptom reduction in some participants.
Stress system targets
New drugs aim at the body's stress response systems, including cortisol regulation and receptors involved in fear learning. These approaches try to address PTSD's biological roots rather than just symptoms.
What to know before you search
Eligibility typically depends on PTSD severity, time since trauma, current symptoms, prior treatment response, and whether participants can avoid certain medications during the study.
What types of trials are currently open
- Psychotherapy trials — Testing variations of trauma-focused therapy, often comparing new approaches to established methods like prolonged exposure or cognitive processing therapy.
- Medication trials — Testing antidepressants, anti-anxiety medications, and drugs targeting stress hormones to see if they reduce PTSD symptoms more effectively than current options.
- Psychedelic-assisted therapy — Studies combining MDMA, psilocybin, or other compounds with therapy sessions, typically requiring overnight stays and extensive psychological support.
- Brain stimulation — Testing techniques like transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) or neurofeedback to change brain activity patterns associated with PTSD.
- Prevention studies — Following people shortly after trauma to test whether early intervention can prevent PTSD from developing.
Recently added PTSD trials
Try an online therapy program for trauma and chronic pain
The primary aim of this study is to investigate the effect of Internet-delivered Acceptance and commitment therapy for youth with PTSD and comorbid chronic pain. A pilot study (no randomization; N=5-10) will be conducted to test the intervention and assessment procedures. The participants will go through an active internet-based ACT treatment focused on education about PTSD, value-based exposure for the traumatic memory and avoided situations, and behavior change through exercises targeting the processes mindfulness, cognitive defusion and acceptance. The treatment is delivered on a safe internet platform. Participants have planned telephone contact with their assigned psychologist 3 times during the program and can also contact their psychologist via a message system in the platform and expect answer within 48 hours.
Take a calming medication combined with nerve stimulation after emergency trauma surgery
Emergency trauma surgery patients, due to the dual stress effects of sudden trauma events (such as car accidents, falls, engineering accidents) and surgical trauma, have a significantly higher incidence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) compared to the general population. This disease, characterized by intrusive memories, avoidance behaviors, negative changes in cognitive emotions, and increased arousal, not only severely hinders patients' postoperative psychological recovery and reduces their quality of life, but may also prolong hospital stays, increase the risk of readmission, and impose a heavy medical and economic burden on families and society. Dexmedetomidine, as a highly selective α₂-adrenergic receptor agonist, possesses sedative, anxiolytic, analgesic, and sympatholytic effects. By regulating the locus coeruleus-norepinephrine system, it can alleviate perioperative stress responses, reduce postoperative anxiety and delirium incidence. In recent years, multiple studies both domestically and internationally have confirmed its potential to prevent PTSD by inhibiting the encoding and consolidation processes of trauma-related memories. In randomized clinical trials, administering dexmedetomidine during and after surgery has been shown to reduce the incidence of PTSD in trauma patients. However, when used alone, some patients still develop PTSD, indicating room for improvement in preventive efficacy. Additionally, there are risks of adverse reactions such as hypotension and bradycardia, which limit its application in certain populations. As a non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation technique, transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) exerts its effect by stimulating the vagus nerve branches in the cavum concha. It has the advantages of simple operation, high safety, and can be implemented during the perioperative period. It has been proven to regulate the stress response and emotional processing of the central nervous system, reduce stress response scores, and has the potential for perioperative analgesia. However, there is limited research on its early prevention after emergency trauma surgery, and no exploration of synergistic effects with dexmedetomidine. Currently, there is no clinical research on the use of dexmedetomidine combined with taVNS for the prevention of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in patients undergoing emergency trauma surgery at home and abroad. Existing research mostly focuses on single drugs or single neuroregulation techniques, and there are limitations such as small sample size, short follow-up time, and uncontrolled confounding factors such as perioperative pain and delirium, making it difficult to meet the clinical demand for efficient and safe PTSD prevention schemes.
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