The effects of different extreme events were studied in relation to two types of stress - combat (military) stress and stress imposed by the Chernobyl nuclear power station accident. Totals of 30 combatants and 33 clean-up workers were investigated and treated. The characteristics of the initial stage of stress reactions and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were assessed in terms of the major diagnostic criteria in each group. The overall conclusions were: that the responses to different stresses involved the development of similar pathological states, including all the main symptoms of PTSD. However, these were accompanied by significant phenomenological differences at the level of syndromes depending on the nature of the stressors (traumatic events). This report provides detailed assessment of the questions of the complex treatment of patients using psychotherapy and medications, as well as approaches to rehabilitation and social support.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Yu. A. Aleksandrovskii, Borderline Psychiatry and Contemporary Social Problems [in Russian], Rostov on Don (1996).
Yu. A. Aleksandrovskii, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Approaches to Its Treatment [in Russian], Moscow (2005).
V. M. Voloshin, “Treatment of chronic post-traumatic stress disorder using the atypical tricyclic antidepressants tianeptine (Coaxil),” Psikhiat. Psikhofarmakoter., 5, 1 (2003).
G. M. Rumyantseva, M. O. Lebedeva, T. M. Levina, et al., “Chronic ecological stress and post-traumatic stress disorders in the population involved in the Chernobyl nuclear power station accident,” in: Old and New Problems in Borderline Psychiatry [in Russian], Moscow (1997), pp. 54–66.
N. V. Tarabrina, A Handbook for the Psychology of Post-Traumatic Stress [in Russian], Piter, St. Petersburg (2001).
J. A. Costa e Silva et al., “Placebo-controlled study of tianeptine in major depressive episodes,” Neuropsychobiology, 35, No. 1, 24–29 (1997).
L. Davidson and A. Baum, “Chronic stress and posttraumatic stress disorders,” J. Consult. Clin. Psychol., 54, No. 3, 303–308.
C. Delbende, D. Tranchand-Bunel, G. Torozzo, et al., “Effect of chronic treatment with the antidepressant tianeptine on the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis,” Eur. J. Pharmacol., 251, 245–251 (1994).
E. B. Foa, T. M. Keane, and M. J. Friedman, Effective Treatment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder [in Russian], Cogito-Tsentr, Moscow (2005).
B. L. Green, J. D. Lindy, and M. C. Grace, “Psychological effects of toxic contamination,” in: Individual and Community Responses to Trauma and Disaster, Cambridge University Press (1994).
M. J. Horowitz, D. S. Weiss, and C. Marmar, “Diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder,” J. Nerv. Ment. Dis., 175, 276–277 (1987).
R. Lazarus and S. Folkman, Stress, Appraisal and Coping, Springer, New York (1984).
V. Novotny and F. Faltus, “Tianeptine and fluoxetine in major depression: a 6-week randomised double-blind study/human,” Psychopharmacology, 17, No. 6, 299–303 (2002).
L. Peters, T. Slade, and G. Andrews, “Comparison of ICD10 and DSM-IV criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder,” J. Traumatic Stress, 12, No. 2, 335–343 (1999).
G. Thomas, “Tianeptine in PTSD: a double-blind study versus placebo. Protocol and methodological issues,” in: 11th World Congress of Psychiatry, August, 1999; Hamburg.
H. M. Vyner, “The psychological dimension of health care for patients exposed to radiation and the other invisible environmental contaminants,” Social Scient. Med., 27, 1097–1103 (1988).
L. Waintraub, L. Septien, and P. Azoulay, “Efficacy and safety of tianeptine in major depression: evidence from a 3-month controlled clinical trial versus paroxetine,” CNS Drugs, 16, No. 1, 65–75 (2002).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Translated from Zhurnal Nevrologii i Psikhiatrii imeni S. S. Korsakova, Vol. 109, No. 12, Iss. I, pp. 12-17, December, 2009.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Rumyantseva, G.M., Stepanov, A.L. The Clinical Picture of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Its Treatment in Different Types of Traumatic Exposures. Neurosci Behav Physi 41, 165–170 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11055-011-9395-8
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11055-011-9395-8