Clinical Trial Will Explore New Drug Treatments for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Military Personnel and Veterans

A clinical trial to explore new drug treatments for military personnel and veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was launched on October 16, according to the American Association for the Advancement of Science EurekAlert.

“PTSD is heterogenous in nature, meaning that no single biological cause is common to all individuals with PTSD,” said Kimberly del Carmen, a health scientist product manager at USAMMDA. “For that reason, we don’t think there will be one ‘magic pill’ that will work for everyone, so we’re employing an innovative testing strategy called an Adaptive Platform Trial.”

Military veterans are more prone to develop PTSD than civilians. While around 6% of the total population in the US may experience PTSD at some point in their lives, the current treatment options for PTSD include various types of trauma-focused psychotherapy and medications to manage its symptoms. However, previous studies suggest that individuals with a military background may respond less favorably to these treatment methods than those without a military history.

The design of this clinical trial platform enables efficient use of resources with an accelerated schedule that simultaneously and sequentially tests multiple drugs. As the trial progresses, unsuccessful drugs will be replaced with new candidates, while successful ones will move to the next stage of development. Along with evaluating various potential PTSD treatments, the trial will also analyze multiple biological indicators to identify shared characteristics among people with PTSD, such as specific biological markers that can help design potential treatments or match treatments to individuals. The trial will include 15 to 20 clinical sites in the US and will involve up to 600 participants for testing the drugs over roughly 3 years.

“According to del Carmen, three drug candidates that are FDA-approved for conditions other than PTSD were chosen for the first round of testing,” wrote the article authors. “Frequent interim analyses of the data will be conducted, and successful testing results will trigger the first of a series of clinical practice guideline decision points, including recommendations for the off-label use of these drugs.”

Reference

EurekAlert. Study seeks new treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder in veterans, military personnel. Published October 26, 2023. Accessed November 2, 2023. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1006014