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Article: Propranolol, other drugs may stave off PTSD.(posttraumatic stress disorder)
- Article from:
- Internal Medicine News
- Article date:
- February 1, 2005
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 International Medical News Group. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Over the next several years, victims of car accidents, crimes, or other traumas who are treated at Boston's Massachusetts General Hospital will be offered a commonly used heart drug--the [beta]-adrenergic blocker propranolol--to potentially help lessen the intensity and future impact of traumatic memories.
Patients who participate in this study will be part of a wave of new drug trials aimed at intervening early to alter memory processes and prevent posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Other studies are planned using later intervention to treat PTSD by affecting memory "reconsolidation," the process by which memories that have been reactivated are stored again.