Curing Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Studies in the Prevent

WHAT IS PTSD AND HOW DOES PROPRANOLOL HELP?

PTSD is a psychological sickness that is caused by traumatic events. These events cause the body to send enormous amounts of epinephrine (a.k.a. adrenalin) to the brain causing the body to perform above its usual condition. These hormones cause the heart to beat faster and muscles to perform above their normal capacity.

This medical breakthrough opens the doors to a huge amount of potential medical findings. If we could use this drug to alter a chemical imbalance that causes PTSD, could we also use it for other disorders caused by imbalanced chemicals or hormones? It is common for heterosexuals to claim that homosexuality is a chemical imbalance; that their hormones are disproportionate, which would cause them to be attracted to the sex opposite of that which is accepted in society. If this assumption is correct, then it is possible for science to begin pursuit to find a medication to correct the imbalance. And if this were to be successful, that would be the end of the homosexual lifestyle. It’s scary to think that science is on the trail to possible elimination of a whole subculture. It’s almost as if a situation similar to the Holocaust could happen all over again, but instead of battling with guns, we would be battling with drugs.

There is speculation which suggests that tinkering with such natural bodily processes could potentially be damaging to our body. Rachel Yehuda, director of the Traumatic Stress Studies division at Mount Sinai School of Medicine states, “…if nature is giving us adrenaline at a time like this, there’s a reason for it. If medication delays your dealing with the event, maybe you’ll pay for it later” (qtd. in Barry). Dr. Roger K. Pitman of Harvard Medical School reasons that the fact the body reacts in the way it does (i.e. creating emotionally varying memories) is an evolutionary characteristic acquired by our ancestors to avoid hazardous situations and that this natural process could sometimes “overshoot… that system” to cause PTSD.

Pitman conducted an experiment where 41 Emergency Department patients who had just experienced a traumatic event (which met certain stress and response criteria) were given propranolol or placebo no longer than six hours after the traumatic event. They were then instructed to continue their dosage and return one and three months later for psychometric assessment . After the three month assessment, patients were given a “script-driven psychophysiological imagery procedure that has been shown to discriminate subjects with and without PTSD” (Pitman 2001). The experiment concluded that “…a course of propranolol begun shortly following an acute traumatic event is efficacious in reducing PTSD symptoms…” (Pitman 2001).

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