Preliminary Efficacy of Service Dogs as a Complementary Treatment for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Military Members and Veterans

Objective: Psychiatric service dogs are an emerging complementary treatment for military members and veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Yet despite anecdotal accounts of their value, there is a lack of empirical research on their efficacy. The current proof-of-concept study assessed the effects of this practice.

 

Benzodiazepines, Health Care Utilization, and Suicidal Behavior in Veterans With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Objective: To evaluate the relationships between benzodiazepine use and (1) health care utilization and (2) suicide risk in veterans diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

 

A Retrospective Comparative Effectiveness Study of Medications for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Routine Practice

Objective: Fluoxetine, paroxetine, sertraline, topiramate, and venlafaxine have consistently shown efficacy for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials. However, no study has compared the effectiveness of these agents in routine clinical practice. We conducted a retrospective comparative effectiveness study of these 5 medications using electronic medical record data.

 

Doubly Randomized Preference Trial of Prolonged Exposure Versus Sertraline for Treatment of PTSD

Objective:
The authors examined the effect of patient treatment preference on the differential effectiveness of prolonged exposure and sertraline for the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

 

Reducing consequences of child maltreatment during adulthood by public health actions : a Delphi study

Background
Child maltreatment (CM) is associated with long-lasting poor health outcomes, as well as increased levels of disability and health-services consumption across the life-span. However, less is known about how CM consequences can be reduced during adulthood. We investigated professional opinions on how to mitigate long-term consequences of CM in a public health (PH) perspective.

 

Dance movement strategies training to help rebuild social capital in Colombia

Building social capital within a post-conflict scenario is key to achieving sustainable peace. The authors implemented an intervention consisting of a 120-h training programme in dance movement strategies in five violence-affected municipalities in Colombia (n=150). The aim of the intervention was to assess any possible changes in the participants’ states of mindfulness, bodily connection, emotional intelligence, somatic complaints, aggressive reaction, empathy, agency, and subjective emotional experience.

‘This is not paranoia, this is real life’ : psychosocial interventions for refugee victims of torture in Athens

The need for culturally relevant treatment interventions for refugees focusing on post-migration factors is clearly of no small concern. To (i) explore culturally informed perspectives on trauma from an individual, qualitative perspective and (ii) track the trajectory of post-traumatic responses in relation to processes of social integration, we present the results of 12 months of research among asylum seekers and refugees in an NGO-run centre for victims of torture in Athens, Greece.

The study of service dogs for veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder : a scoping literature review

The therapeutic application of human–animal interaction has gained interest recently. One form this interest takes is the use of service dogs as complementary treatment for veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Many reports on the positive effect of PTSD Service Dogs (PSDs) on veterans exist, though most are indirect, anecdotal, or based on self-perceived welfare by veterans. They therefore only give a partial insight into PSD effect.

Subanesthetic Dose Ketamine in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder : A Role for Reconsolidation During Trauma-Focused Psychotherapy?

Despite efforts to develop more effective therapies, PTSD remains a difficult disorder to treat. Insight into the dynamic nature of memory formation and its required molecular machinery can provide an opportunity to target pathological memories for emotionally arousing events. As memories become labile upon retrieval, novel information can update the strength and course of these consolidated memories. Targeting the process of reconsolidation may offer a relevant approach to attenuate fearful and traumatic memories.

MicroRNAs in Post-traumatic Stress Disorder

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric disorder that can develop following exposure to or witnessing of a (potentially) threatening event.

A critical issue is to pinpoint the (neuro)biological mechanisms underlying the susceptibility to stress-related disorder such as PTSD, which develops in the minority of ~15% of individuals exposed to trauma. Over the last few years, a first wave of epigenetic studies has been performed in an attempt to identify the molecular underpinnings of the long-lasting behavioral and mental effects of trauma exposure.

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