Reduction of PTSD Symptoms With Pre-Reactivation Propranolol Therapy: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Mappe: Authors/Alain Brunet/2018 a

Alain Brunet, Ph.D., Daniel Saumier, Ph.D., Aihua Liu, Ph.D., David L. Streiner, Ph.D., Jacques Tremblay, M.D., Roger K. Pitman, M.D.

Objective: The authors assessed the efficacy of trauma memory reactivation performed under the influence of propranolol, a noradrenergic beta-receptor blocker, as a putative reconsolidation blocker, in reducing symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Method:Thiswasa6-week,double-blind,placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial in 60 adults diagnosed with longstanding PTSD. Propranolol or placebo was administered 90 minutes before a brief memory reactivation session, once a week for 6 consecutive weeks. The hypothesis predicted a significant treatment effect of trauma reactivation with propranolol compared with trauma reactivation with placebo in reducing PTSD symptoms on both the ClinicianAdministered PTSD Scale (CAPS) and the patient-rated PTSD Checklist–Specific (PCL-S) in an intention-to-treat analysis.

Results: The estimated group difference in posttreatment CAPS score, adjusted for pretreatment values (analysis of covariance), was a statistically significant 11.50. The within-group pre- to posttreatment effect sizes (Cohen’s d) were 1.76 for propranolol and 1.25 for placebo. For the PCL-S, the mixed linear model’s estimated time-by-group interaction yielded an average decrease of 2.43 points per week, for a total significant difference of 14.58pointsabovethatofplacebo.Thepre-toposttreatmenteffect sizes were 2.74 for propranolol and 0.55 for placebo. Per protocol analyses for both outcomes yielded similar significant results.

Conclusions: Pre-reactivation propranolol, a treatment protocol suggested by reconsolidation theory, appears to beanovel and efficacious treatment for PTSD. Replication studies using a long-termfollow up in various trauma populations are required.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *