Date: 11/3/2008 2:50 PM
Tests start on US-backed drug stress disorder
BASEL, Switzerland (AP) — Clinical trials have begun on a new U.S-backed drug to treat the debilitating feeling of heightened vigilance experienced by veterans with post-traumatic stress, Swiss-based pharmaceutical company Synosia said Monday.
The study is funded with $1.4 million from the U.S. Defense Department and will focus on veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Synosia said.
The company said it hopes the drug, called nepicastat, will help patients who have lost the ability to accurately assess danger, resulting in a constant sense of alertness.
The condition, known as hyperarousal, is one symptom of post-traumatic stress disorder. Others include sleeplessness, anger and withdrawal from friends and family.
Post-traumatic stress disorder affects people from all walks of life, but is particularly common in veterans. Some 40,000 U.S. troops have been diagnosed with the disorder since 2003.
Synosia said the clinical trial will be conducted by researchers at veterans medical centers in Tuscaloosa, Alabama; Houston; and Charleston, South Carolina.
Officials at the U.S. Defense Department and the Department of Veterans Affairs could not immediately be reached for comment.
Initial results about the effectiveness and tolerability of nepicastat are expected next spring, said Synosia spokesman Jan Gregor. Synosia is conducting separate trials to test whether nepicastat is effective as a treatment for cocaine abuse.
Nepicastat works by inhibiting the conversion of the brain chemical dopamine into an adrenaline-like compound called norepinephrine.
____
On the Net:
Synosia: http://www.synosia.com
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.
Tests start on US-backed drug stress disorder
Posted on 3rd November 2008 by Gordon Johnson in Uncategorized
battle fatigue, Iraq veterans, nepicastat, post-traumatic stress disorder, soldier PTSD, stress disorder, Synosia, veteran medicine, veteran PTSD, Veterans Affairs
- Black Music Impressario Don Cornelius, His Brain Surgery And Suspected Suicide
- Princeton Freshman Football Star Dibilio Recovering From Stroke
- Illinois Man Thinks It’s A Joke When He Learns He Shot A Nail Into His Brain
- New York Mets Great Gary Carter Has New Brain Tumors
- Therapists Try To Find Ways To Help Married Couples Cope With TBI
- Jessica Joy Rees, Child Brain Tumor Blogger, Never Gave Up
- Arizona Man Comes Out of Coma, Before Being Groomed To Be An Organ Donor
- Texas Model Recovering, But Could Lose Eye, After Walking Into Plane Propeller
- Wisconsin Study Finds Violent Video Games Cause Brain Changes
- Ex-Sen. George McGovern Hospitalized After Hitting Head In Fall
Please click here to download the plugin required to make popular posts work!
Follow Us
Archives