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Predicting Responses to PTSD Treatment With Iris and Cardiovascular Tests

NCT03539614 · Status: ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING · Phase: PHASE3 · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 87

Last updated 2026-02-17

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) affects many individuals who experience a traumatic event. There are a variety of treatment options for PTSD, including psychotherapy (talk therapy) options, as well as medications, such as the drug prazosin. Each of the treatment options available is effective at significantly reducing the symptoms of PTSD in some, but not all, individuals with PTSD. However, investigators are not yet able to predict in advance who is likely to respond to which of the available treatments. Neither are the investigators able to explain what changes in the brain after exposure to a traumatic stressors, and why it results in persistent symptoms of PTSD for some people, but not for others.

In this study, the investigators are testing two things: First, is testing whether two simple, easy tests of how an individual's blood pressure changes with standing and how an individual's eye reacts to a pulse of light may be able to predict whether that person is likely to respond to the medication prazosin for PTSD. Second, is testing whether those who have been exposed to a traumatic stress show differences in how their body regulates the response to the stress-signal noradrenaline.

Conditions

Interventions

DRUG

Prazosin

This is an antagonist of the alpha1 receptor for noradrenaline. It is FDA approved for the treatment of hypertension, and has also been used for benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH). Most recently, it has been found to be helpful for symptoms of PTSD in some but not all participants.

DRUG

Placebo

This is a capsule containing an inert substance, in order to provide blinding to participants and study staff of when participants are on active medication and when they are not during the later portions of the trial.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • VA Office of Research and Development

    lead FED

Principal Investigators

  • Rebecca C. Hendrickson, MD PhD · VA Puget Sound Health Care System Seattle Division, Seattle, WA

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
TRIPLE
Model
CROSSOVER

Eligibility

Min Age
21 Years
Max Age
75 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2018-06-04
Primary Completion
2026-01-01
Completion
2026-06-01
FDA Drug
Yes

Countries

  • United States

Study Locations

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Entities

Drugs
Diseases

Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT03539614 on ClinicalTrials.gov