PTSD Miracle Treatment Or Snake Oil?

Wow, you'd think that researchers would figure out what was done before. If it worked, they'd still be doing it and we would have seen the results. Guess they hope we didn't notice.

Volunteers wanted for PTSD study of treatment some call a miracle
STARS AND STRIPES
By JENNIFER H. SVAN
Published: November 6, 2016

KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany — A treatment involving the injection of a local anesthetic next to a bundle of nerves in the neck has eased post-traumatic stress symptoms in some patients in as little as 30 minutes with dramatic, lasting results.

Now, the Pentagon is funding a study at three Army medical centers to determine if the technique — long used for the treatment of pain — is truly effective in treating PTSD.

The results from the largest random, controlled trial using the stellate ganglion block could revolutionize the way PTSD — considered a mental illness — is viewed and treated, according to doctors familiar with the experimental procedure.

“It really is the tipping point,” Col. James Lynch, command surgeon for U.S. Special Operations Command Africa in Stuttgart, who has seen firsthand the promising effects of the shot, said about the current trial.
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Does this sound new to you? I bet it doesn't because we already read this "research" back in 2010. Remember this blast from the past?

Stellate Ganglion Blocker Offers Hope for PTSD Treatment only that study came out of New York. I just checked and the link to the report is still live.

JAB TO THE NECK TREATS PTSD?
By Dr. Jay Adlersberg and Eyewitness News
July 28, 2010 3:17:47 PM PDT
NEW YORK -- All it takes is one loud noise to trigger a flood of awful memories. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) haunts one in every six soldiers coming back from Iraq, and nearly eight million Americans in all. Standard treatment means therapy and medications that don't always work and have side effects. Now, one doctor is treating PTSD with an injection that he says can block the painful memories.

"I was firing a rocket propelled grenade (RPG). When I pulled the trigger, it malfunctioned, and it blew up in the tube. Injured seven marines and killed three, all good friends of mine," said John Sullivan, an Iraq Veteran.

Thirteen surgeries, several skin grafts, and two years of therapy later, Sullivan is in a much more peaceful place, but that doesn't mean he's safe from the effects of war.

"I was riding on a bus with my uncle going to a baseball game, and the tire blew out?started having a panic attack," Sullivan said.

Sullivan was diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a type of anxiety disorder. It can occur after you've seen or experienced a traumatic event that involved the threat of injury or death. According to the National Center for PTSD, statistics indicate that approximately 7 to 8 percent of people in the United States will likely develop PTSD in their lifetime. For combat veterans and rape victims, the chance of developing PTSD is as high as 30 percent.

Untreated PTSD can have devastating, far-reaching consequences. It can prevent someone from functioning in daily life and can ruin relationships. Economically, PTSD can have significant consequences as well. As of 2005, more than 200,000 veterans were receiving disability compensation for this illness, at a cost of $4.3 billion. This represents an 80-percent increase in the number of military people receiving disability benefits for PTSD.

Anti-anxiety meds didn't work for Sullivan, so he's trying an experimental treatment: an injection to the neck to stop PTSD.
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