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Accelerating Development of Better PTSD Treatment for Veterans: The VA PTSD Psychopharmacology Initiative (PPI)

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Since 2016, VA Research has been working to support the development of new medication treatments through focused clinical trials under our PTSD Psychopharmacology Initiative (PPI). While there are two FDA approved medications for PTSD (both antidepressants), not everyone successfully tolerates or responds to those medications, and thus our clinical trials program has grown to accommodate multiple ongoing studies (described below).  It is the goal of the PPI to identify, test, and confirm new effective medications that could become available for PTSD treatments.

In this effort we still need investigators to:

  1. Evaluate local interest in serving as a performance sites for PTSD medication studies. Researchers who wish to serve as site investigators should notify their Research Office and assist with the completion of the PPI Site Survey.
  1. Conduct research on new compounds. We encourage eligible VA investigators who are interested in testing new medications for PTSD in Veterans to apply for funding through the CSR&D Clinical Trials program.  The first step in this process is to submit a Clinical Trial letter of intent.  Instructions and deadlines can be found in Section IV of our Resources For the VA Research Community

The PPI is an integral part of the Clinical Science Research and Development (CSRD) roadmap, Accelerating the Translation of New Medications for Veterans with PTSD. This document illustrates our progress to date as well as future goals related to this important effort.

Questions regarding PPI may be submitted to CLIN-Review@va.gov.

Active/Completed PTSD Medication Studies

PI Name

Title

Station

Ayers, Catherine

Cannabidiol as an adjunctive to prolonged exposure for the treatment of PTSD

San Diego, CA

Back, Sudie

CAP – Doxazosin in the Treatment of Co-Occurring PTSD and Alcohol Use Disorders

Charleston, SC

Flanagan, Julianne

Enhancing Prolonged Exposure Therapy for PTSD with Oxytocin

Charleston, SC

Hendrickson, Rebecca

Noradrenergic biomarkers in PTSD: precision medicine & mechanisms

Seattle, WA

Inslicht, Sabra

Suvorexant: A Dual Orexin Receptor Antagonist for Treating Sleep Disturbance in Post-Traumatic Stress

San Francisco, CA

Jones, Melissa

Pimavanserin for Insomnia in Veterans with Post-traumatic Stress Disorder

Houston, TX

Krystal, John

CAP – Ketamine for antidepressant resistant PTSD

West Haven, CT

Lin, Chen

A randomized placebo-controlled trail of methylphenidate in Veterans with a diagnosis of post traumatic stress disorder and recent cerebral stroke

Birmingham, AL

Naylor, Jennifer

Neurosteroid Intervention for PTSD in Iraq/Afghanistan-era Veterans

Durham, NC

Neylan, Thomas

Phase IIa Trial of a Selective Glucocorticoid Receptor Antagonist in the Treatment of Veterans with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

San Francisco, CA

Norman, Sonya

Topiramate and Prolonged Exposure for Alcohol Use Disorder and PTSD

San Diego, CA

Raskind, Murray
Davis, Lori

Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial of Methylphenidate for the Treatment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder with Associated Neurocognitive Complaints

Seattle, WA Tuscaloosa, AL

Shiroma, Paulo

Repeated Ketamine Treatment to Accelerate Efficacy of Prolonged Exposure in PTSD

Minneapolis, MN



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Any health information on this website is strictly for informational purposes and is not intended as medical advice. It should not be used to diagnose or treat any condition.