Injection can 'cure' PTSD in veterans and they found Bigfoot

Injection can 'cure' PTSD in veterans and they found Bigfoot
by Chaplain Kathie
Wounded Times Blog
September 21, 2012

The title chosen by FOX should fall under false advertising because I am sure many saw the headline and had a rush of hope flood into their brains. Imagine, after all these years they found a cure for PTSD. Wouldn't that be wonderful? No more suffering! But as usual a good headline does not always mean the truth will follow.

Doctor: Injection can 'cure' PTSD in veterans
FOX News
By Alex Crees
Published September 21, 2012

So far, Lipov has treated 65 patients from 25 states and one person from New Zealand. The cost of the injection is approximately $1,000 and is fully covered by his non-profit Chicago Medical Innovations.

Lipov said the procedure works in 70 percent of patients, and they show at least 50 percent improvement in symptoms.

A federally-approved injection is offering new hope to veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The injection, which takes approximately 15 minutes to administer, has led to dramatic improvements in some veterans who suffer from the disorder.

With 23,000 soldiers set to withdraw from Afghanistan this year, somewhere between 11 to 20 percent of them will suffer from PTSD, according to estimates from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

PTSD is an anxiety disorder that typically follows exposure to a traumatic event such as combat, disaster or assault. Symptoms include nightmares, jumpiness, paranoia, irritability and aggressiveness. It is often accompanied by depression, substance abuse or other anxiety disorders.

To address the soldiers who aren’t finding relief from standard therapies, Dr. Eugene Lipov, medical director of Advanced Pain Centers in Chicago, director of pain research at Northwest Community Hospital and medical director of Chicago Medical Innovations, is championing a little-known treatment called Stellate ganglion block (SGB).
read more here

I've read too many reports on what works and lots of studies trying to find the answer so I always try to read the whole thing. When I read they tried this on 65 patients with 70% getting 50% relief, it is close to offering them some dark chocolate pretzels. There is a better rate of improved symptoms in service dogs and we saw what happened to that.