Post-traumatic Stress Disorder
Conditions
Keywords
ziprasidone, sertraline, PTSD
Brief summary
Serotonin re-uptake inhibitors, such as sertraline, are the medication of choice in post-traumatic stress disorder. However, it takes several weeks before they ameliorate symptoms. Therefore, we will add ziprasidone (vs. placebo) medication during the first four weeks of sertraline in order to find out if this strategy accelerates symptomatic relief.
Detailed description
A current problem in the pharmacotherapy of PTSD is that the medication of choice, serotonin re-uptake inhibitors, take several weeks before they show considerable effects on PTSD symptoms. Addition of typical neuroleptics, such as ziprasidone, offers a potential strategy to bring about a faster symptomatic relief, because they display anxiolytic properties without the risk of dependence. Therefore, in addition to standard sertraline therapy (at least 8 weeks), we will give ziprasidone vs. placebo over the first four weeks in a double-blind randomized design.
Interventions
DRUGziprasidone, sertraline
Sponsors
Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf
Study design
Observational model
CASE_ONLY
Time perspective
PROSPECTIVE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
Clinical diagnosis of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Exclusion criteria
Lifetime psychotic disorders, current substance dependency, gravidity, lactation, tartrazine hypersensitivity, contraindication against sertraline or ziprasidone
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Post-Traumatic Diagnostic Scale (PDS) | 56 days |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) | 56 days |
Countries
Germany
Outcome results
None listed