Blood Pressure Drug Reduces Post-Traumatic Sleep Disturbances

A new study has found that prazosin, a medication used to treat high blood pressure (hypertension), is also successful in reducing symptoms in chronic post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) patients.

Researchers from the U.S. Veterans Affairs (VA) Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center (MIRECC; Portland, OR, USA), conducted a placebo-controlled, blinded study of 40 veterans of the Vietnam War (32 subjects), World War II (2), the Korean War (3), the Panama invasion (1), and the first Gulf War (2). Individuals were assessed using three primary outcome measures, the clinician administered PTSD scale (CAPS) recurrent distressing dreams item, which measures frequency and intensity of trauma-related distressing dreams; the Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI), which is a self-report scale assessing sleep quality and sleep disturbance; and the clinical global impression of change (CGIC), an investigator-rated assessment of change in global clinical status, which was defined in this study as sense of well-being and ability to function in daily activities.

The results showed improvements in all three measures, with 71% of the subjects receiving prazosin having moderately or markedly improved CGIC scores at the end of the study, compared to 12% of those receiving placebo. Prazosin was significantly more effective than placebo in reducing trauma nightmares, improving sleep quality, and improving the general clinical condition of the treated patients. The study was published in the April 15, 2007, issue of Biological Psychiatry.

"These results support the therapeutic use of prazosin for PTSD in combat veterans who present with trauma nightmares and sleep disturbance,” said lead author Murray A. Raskind, M.D., from the MIRECC and the University of Washington (Seattle, USA). "Clinical experience suggests that prazosin also is beneficial for PTSD trauma nightmares and sleep disturbance in young civilian trauma victims, young veterans of the current conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan, and in elderly World War II and Korean War combat veterans and Holocaust survivors.”


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VA Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center