PTSD Study Proposed in Texas

A proposed Prolonged Exposure for Combat-Related Stress Disorders study links Wilford Hall Medical Center, Brooke Army Medical Center and the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio in a collaborative effort to evaluate the effectiveness of prolonged exposure (PE) treatment for service members who will experience combat-related stress disorders while deployed to Iraq in 2007. “This new treatment approach has the potential to prevent chronic PTSD in active-duty military members if used as an early intervention for troops treated in Iraq or for those treated soon after they return from a deployment,” said Dr. Alan Peterson, UTHSCSA Department of Psychiatry professor. A 2006 Journal of the American Medical Association study shows that 9.8 percent of service members returning from Iraq have screened positive for PTSD symptoms and 11.9 percent were diagnosed with a mental disorder within the first year home.