Acupuncture for the Treatment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Status

Completed

Conditions

Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic

Treatments

Procedure: Acupuncture

Behavioral: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Study type

Interventional

Funder types

NIH

Identifiers

NCT00055354

R21AT001229-01

Details and patient eligibility

About

The purpose of this study is to evaluate acupuncture as a treatment for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and to correlate the diagnosis of PTSD with Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) diagnostic patterns.

Full description

This study will evaluate: 1) the TCM diagnostic differentiation patterns of people who have PTSD as defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, 4th edition; 2) if an acupuncture treatment approach is acceptable to people with PTSD; and 3) if an acupuncture treatment approach is associated with a reduction in PTSD symptoms that is comparable to that of standard treatments. Because symptoms of depression, insomnia, and pain are often associated with PTSD, we will also evaluate the potential benefit of an acupuncture approach to depression, insomnia, and pain symptoms in people with PTSD.

Patients in this study will be randomized to one of three groups. Group A will receive acupuncture therapy. Group B will receive standard Cognitive Behavior Therapy. Group C is a control group and will receive no treatment. Patients in Groups A and B will undergo a total of 24 hours of therapy over the 3 month study course. All patients will have five nontherapeutic study visits; these visits will address diagnosis and assessment. Study visits will include assessments of PTSD symptoms, sleep symptoms, and level of impairment.

Sex

All

Ages

18 to 65 years old

Volunteers

No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion and exclusion criteria

Inclusion Criteria

DSM-IV diagnosis of PTSD
Stage I PTSD symptoms
PTSD Symptom Scale-Self Report (PSS-SR) score > 16
Meets PSS-SR diagnostic criteria

Exclusion Criteria

Stage I substance abuse and/or dependence in the past 6 months
Psychotic disorder
Inability to commit to treatment or wait-list conditions
Current treatment specifically for PTSD
Certain medical conditions, including thyroid disease, class IV heart failure, active cancer treatment, and uncontrolled diabetes
Pregnant
Use of benzodiazepines, narcotics, opiates, narcotic antagonists, sleep medication, muscle relaxants, analgesics, or sedatives.