{"id":7250,"date":"2024-06-04T17:01:07","date_gmt":"2024-06-04T17:01:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/?p=7250"},"modified":"2024-06-04T17:24:37","modified_gmt":"2024-06-04T17:24:37","slug":"why-ptsd-is-so-hard-to-diagnose-and-treat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/?p=7250","title":{"rendered":"Why PTSD Is So Hard to Diagnose and Treat"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><\/div>\n<p id=\"article-summary\" class=\"css-79rysd e1wiw3jv0\">The F.D.A. is weighing whether to approve MDMA-assisted therapy as a new option.<\/p>\n<section class=\"meteredContent css-1r7ky0e\">\n<div class=\"css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Post-traumatic stress disorder closes people off. They withdraw \u2014 often reluctant to talk about what they\u2019ve experienced and unable to trust others or themselves. But many leading treatments for the condition require just that.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The treatments for PTSD \u2014 including several forms of psychotherapy and medication \u2014 are effective for many patients, but they don\u2019t work for everyone. They can be expensive. Sometimes, they can be so distressing that patients stop the treatment before it\u2019s complete.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThe field has acknowledged for years that we need to do better for our patients,\u201d Dr. Jerry Rosenbaum, a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, said Tuesday at a meeting of experts tasked with advising the Food and Drug Administration on whether to approve the first new medication in decades for PTSD. <\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The treatment would use the psychoactive drug MDMA, also known as Ecstasy, in combination with talk therapy to relieve symptoms of the disorder, which can cause intrusive thoughts, flashbacks and nightmares and increases the risk of suicide or death from other causes. Proponents say the drug can tamp down on patients\u2019 fears and anxieties and help them to feel compassion for themselves as they work through their trauma in therapy. Two clinical trials have shown promising outcomes, but <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/06\/04\/health\/mdma-ptsd-fda.html\" title>experts have raised concerns<\/a> about how reliable the data is and how safe the drug may be.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Roughly <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ptsd.va.gov\/understand\/common\/common_adults.asp\" title rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">six percent<\/a> of the American population will develop PTSD at some point in their lives. Only a fraction of those patients currently recover, Dr. Tiffany R. Farchione, director of the F.D.A.\u2019s Division of Psychiatry Products, said at the meeting Tuesday. And many people with PTSD symptoms <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2022\/04\/04\/well\/mind\/ptsd-trauma-symptoms.html\" title>struggle to get diagnosed<\/a> in the first place<a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2022\/04\/04\/well\/mind\/ptsd-trauma-symptoms.html\" title>.<\/a><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"css-1u37br4 eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-6d538521\">How is PTSD diagnosed?<\/h2>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The gold standard for diagnosing PTSD is the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale, known as CAPS-5. Clinicians ask patients about symptoms and their severity, how often they re-experience unwanted memories, what measures they take to avoid reminders of traumatic events, and more.<\/p>\n<div class=\"css-1336jj\">\n<div class=\"css-121kum4\">\n<div class=\"css-171d1bw\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-asuuk5\">\n<div class=\"css-7axq9l\" data-testid=\"optimistic-truncator-noscript\">\n<div data-testid=\"optimistic-truncator-noscript-message\" class=\"css-6yo1no\">\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">We are having trouble retrieving the article content.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1dv1kvn\" id=\"optimistic-truncator-a11y\">\n<hr \/>\n<p>Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/myaccount.nytimes.com\/auth\/login?response_type=cookie&amp;client_id=vi&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F06%2F04%2Fwell%2Fptsd-treatment-mdma.html&amp;asset=opttrunc\">log into<\/a>\u00a0your Times account, or\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F06%2F04%2Fwell%2Fptsd-treatment-mdma.html\">subscribe<\/a>\u00a0for all of The Times.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1g71tqy\">\n<div data-testid=\"optimistic-truncator-message\" class=\"css-6yo1no\">\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Thank you for your patience while we verify access.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Already a subscriber?\u00a0<a data-testid=\"log-in-link\" class=\"css-z5ryv4\" href=\"https:\/\/myaccount.nytimes.com\/auth\/login?response_type=cookie&amp;client_id=vi&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F06%2F04%2Fwell%2Fptsd-treatment-mdma.html&amp;asset=opttrunc\">Log in<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Want all of The Times?\u00a0<a data-testid=\"subscribe-link\" class=\"css-z5ryv4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F06%2F04%2Fwell%2Fptsd-treatment-mdma.html\">Subscribe<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The F.D.A. is weighing whether to approve MDMA-assisted therapy as a new option.Post-traumatic stress disorder closes people off. They withdraw \u2014 often reluctant to talk about what they\u2019ve experienced and unable to trust others or themselves. But many leading treatments for the condition require just that.The treatments for PTSD \u2014 including several forms of psychotherapy and medication \u2014 are effective for many patients, but they don\u2019t work for everyone. They can be expensive. Sometimes, they can be so distressing that patients stop the treatment before it\u2019s complete.\u201cThe field has acknowledged for years that we need to do better for our patients,\u201d Dr. Jerry Rosenbaum, a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, said Tuesday at a meeting of experts tasked with advising the Food and Drug Administration on whether to approve the first new medication in decades for PTSD. The treatment would use the psychoactive drug MDMA, also known as Ecstasy, in combination with talk therapy to relieve symptoms of the disorder, which can cause intrusive thoughts, flashbacks and nightmares and increases the risk of suicide or death from other causes. Proponents say the drug can tamp down on patients\u2019 fears and anxieties and help them to feel compassion for themselves as they work through their trauma in therapy. Two clinical trials have shown promising outcomes, but experts have raised concerns about how reliable the data is and how safe the drug may be.Roughly six percent of the American population will develop PTSD at some point in their lives. Only a fraction of those patients currently recover, Dr. Tiffany R. Farchione, director of the F.D.A.\u2019s Division of Psychiatry Products, said at the meeting Tuesday. And many people with PTSD symptoms struggle to get diagnosed in the first place.How is PTSD diagnosed?The gold standard for diagnosing PTSD is the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale, known as CAPS-5. Clinicians ask patients about symptoms and their severity, how often they re-experience unwanted memories, what measures they take to avoid reminders of traumatic events, and more.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and\u00a0log into\u00a0your Times account, or\u00a0subscribe\u00a0for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber?\u00a0Log in.Want all of The Times?\u00a0Subscribe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7252,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7250","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7250","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7250"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7250\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7253,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7250\/revisions\/7253"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7252"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7250"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7250"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7250"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}