U.S. DoD awards $11M to study two different ways to treat PTSD in war veterans

U.S. DoD awards $11M to study two different ways to treat PTSD in war veterans
Published on December 14, 2011


A team of researchers who have pioneered novel treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been awarded an $11 million, four-year grant from the U.S. Department of Defense to investigate the differences between virtual reality and traditional prolonged exposure therapy.

The study, led by Dr. JoAnn Difede at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, will test two different ways to treat PSTD with a total of 300 military and civilian personnel in New York; Washington, D.C.; and Los Angeles. Co-investigators include Dr. Barbara Rothbaum, director of the Trauma and Anxiety Recovery Program and professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Emory University School of Medicine, and Dr. Albert "Skip" Rizzo, associate director of medical virtual reality at the University of Southern California (USC) Institute for Creative Technologies and a research professor at USC's Davis School of Gerontology and the USC Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences. The study will be located at two clinical sites in addition to NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell: Dr. Rothbaum is working with the Walter Reed Army Medical Center and National Intrepid Center of Excellence in the Washington, D.C., area; Dr. Rizzo, with the VA Medical
Center in Long Beach, Calif.

"Combat-related PTSD is notoriously difficult to treat. Our study's large-scale head-to-head investigation of virtual reality compared to traditional exposure treatment for PTSD could answer decisively which intervention is most effective, and for whom," says Dr. Difede, who directs the Program for Anxiety and Traumatic Stress Studies at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell and serves as professor of psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College. "Knowledge we obtain from this clinical trial will help both civilians and military personnel cope with PTSD and could potentially expand the offerings of first-line treatments for this disorder."

People with PTSD are haunted by events that happened in their past. This anxiety disorder can develop following a traumatic event, such as war, a car accident, fire or a personal assault. Symptoms include re-experiencing the event, such as through nightmares and flashbacks, avoidance and feelings of numbness and emotional detachment, and hyperarousal such as difficulty sleeping and jumpiness.
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