A study at the VA Puget Sound Health Care System found that the drug Prazosin decreases symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in combat veterans. The placebo-controlled study was published in the Feb. 2003 American Journal of Psychiatry.

Principal investigator Murray Raskind, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and director of mental health services at the VA Puget Sound, has published several studies using Prazosin, an adrenaline blocker, to control PTSD symptoms. Prazosin is primarily prescribed for urinary problems associated with enlarged prostate. It costs less than a penny a day and has few side effects.

In the Feb. 2003 study, 10 Vietnam War combat veterans with chronic PTSD were given Prazosin and placebo in a 20-week, double-blind crossover protocol. Those receiving the Prazosin reported substantially fewer recurrent distressing dreams, had an easier time falling asleep and remaining asleep, and reported a change in overall PTSD severity.

More than 10 million Americans are diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorders; approximately one in four combat veterans suffer from recurrent nightmares. Raskind and his colleagues continue to recruit people with posttraumatic stress disorders for ongoing research.