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Psychopharmacological Strategies in the Management of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): What Have We Learned?

  • Disaster Psychiatry: Trauma, PTSD, and Related Disorders (E Foa and A Asnaani, Section Editors)
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Abstract

There have been significant advancements in the pharmacologic management of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the past two decades. Multisite randomized clinical trials (RCTs) have noted the efficacy of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNR Is) for PTSD treatment. Unfortunately, there have been no new medications approved to treat PTSD in the past 10 years. Although there have been exciting new findings in our knowledge of the neurobiology of PTSD, clinical trials testing new medications have lagged. This review summarizes recent research that builds on the unique pathophysiology of PTSD and suggests ways to move the field forward.

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Acknowledgments

This material is the result of work supported with resources and the use of facilities at the Executive Division of the National Center for PTSD at the White River Junction, Vermont VA Medical Center. Appreciation is expressed to Ms. Aaron Jenkyn for assistance with preparation of this manuscript.

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Conflict of Interest

Nancy C. Bernardy and Matthew J. Friedman declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 215 North Main Street, White River Junction, VT, 05009, USA

    Nancy C. Bernardy & Matthew J. Friedman

  2. Department of Psychiatry, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, NH, 03755, USA

    Nancy C. Bernardy & Matthew J. Friedman

  3. Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, NH, 03755, USA

    Matthew J. Friedman

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  1. Nancy C. Bernardy
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Correspondence to Nancy C. Bernardy.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Disaster Psychiatry: Trauma, PTSD, and Related Disorders

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Bernardy, N.C., Friedman, M.J. Psychopharmacological Strategies in the Management of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): What Have We Learned?. Curr Psychiatry Rep 17, 20 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-015-0564-2

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