Steroids may relieve PTSD: animal studies

	Tweet

Steroids may have a role in the treatment of anxiety disorders like posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), according to studies in mice, which indicate that glucocorticoids, a type of steroid, impair the recall of established fear memories.

“Our understanding of the basic brain mechanisms responsible for acquired fear and anxiety has resulted in new and potentially extremely effective approaches” for PTSD and other psychiatric disorders, study investigator Dr. Robert W. Greene from The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, told Reuters Health.

“One approach, suggested by this research, is to enhance the process of extinction, as we have observed in mice—an enhancement that depends on reactivation of the fear or anxiety provoking memory.”

Greene and colleagues investigated the effects of glucocorticoid administration on subsequent recall of an established fear memory in mice after a single-trial reactivation.

Mice injected with the hormone corticosterone after memory reactivation showed significantly decreased fear memory 24 hours later, the authors report, indicating that corticosteroids impair subsequent recall of a reactivated fear memory.

These studies, they conclude, “provide a model for a therapeutic approach” in the treatment of emotional memories that may cause disease.

SOURCE: Journal of Neuroscience September 13, 2006.

RELATED STORIES:
Genomic catastrophe causes developmental delay, cognitive disorders   Study Identifies Those Elderly Most at Risk for Major Depression   Impact of Anxiety on Cardiac Patients   “Wake-Up Pill” Under Study to Treat Patients with Bipolar Disorder   Study shows how alcohol damages the bones   $4.8M Grant to Develop New Treatments for Depression   Complementary and Alternative Medicine for Mental Disorders Among African Americans, Black Caribbean   Many facing home foreclosure may have depression   Blood testing for mood disorders   Stimulant Treatment Doesn’t Appear to Raise Drug-Abuse Risk   Lung disease linked to mental health problems   Depression, health care services and heart attacks—what’s the connection?   Littlest couch potatoes face mental health risks   Most suicidal adolescents receive follow-up care after ER visits   Fat and clever and rich - equals depression

Comments

[ + Post Your Own ]

Now you're in the public comment zone. What follows is not Armenian Medical Network's stuff; it comes from other people and we don't vouch for it. A reminder: By using this Web site you agree to accept our Terms of Service. Click here to read the Rules of Engagement.

There are no comments for this entry yet. [ + Comment here + ]