Conditions: Non PTSD PTSD
Allocation: RANDOMIZED | Intervention model: PARALLEL
Enrollment: 40
Healthy volunteers: yes

Brief summary:
The overarching objectives of this study are: 1) To investigate the neurobiology of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) during Rapid Eye Movement (REM) and Non-Rapid Eye Movement (NREM) sleep relative to wakefulness; 2) To identify the neurobiological underpinnings of sleep treatment response to prazosin or placebo during wakefulness, REM sleep, and NREM sleep in Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom (OIF/OEF) ( veterans with PTSD; and 3) To explore pre-treatment brain activity patterns during wakefulness, REM sleep, and NREM sleep that predict sleep treatment response. We will also explore the stability of the Positron Emission Tomography (PET) signal by comparing pre- and post-placebo changes in brain glucose metabolism in non-responders. For non-PTSD veterans, the stability of the PET signal will be evaluated in a subsample of 6 veterans without PTSD who will repeat the PET imaging procedures 8 weeks after the initial PET series.

The overarching hypothesis is that PTSD is characterized by neurobiological alterations in the amygdala, medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), and brain centers involved in the regulation of NREM and REM sleep, and that these neurobiological changes are normalized with effective sleep treatment.

Detailed description:
PTSD affects both daytime functioning and sleep. Complaints of poor sleep, objective disruption of sleep, and heightened sympathovagal tone during sleep occurring early after trauma exposure increase the risk of developing PTSD up to one year later. (1-4). Insomnia is one the most common reasons for referral to mental health services in active duty personnel (5). In military personnel returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, more than 70 percent of those with PTSD report sleep problems and fatigue, whereas more than 25% percent of those without PTSD endorse these symptoms (6). Other disruptive nocturnal behaviors and sleep disorders including sleep terrors, nocturnal anxiety attacks, simple and complex motor behaviors and vocalizations, acting out dreams, sleep apnea, and periodic leg movement disorders are also frequently reported by PTSD patients (7-12). In PTSD, sleep disturbances independently contribute to poor clinical outcomes such as increased severity of daytime PTSD symptoms (8), depression (13), suicidality (13), general psychiatric distress (14), poorer quality of life and functioning (14), poorer perceived physical health (14), and increased substance use (15;16).

Arms:
arm 1: Active medication arm. Prazosin is an FDA approved medication, originally designed as an anti-hypertension medication. Side effects of the medication in some include sleepiness and once asleep, sustained sleep. arm 2: A placebo is a sugar pill, which will be used to compare with the results of the active medication

Interventions: intervention 1: Prazosin intervention 2: Placebo
Intervention descriptions: intervention 1: The medication will be administered in the same manner, regardless of active or placebo, as the study physician and investigators, as well as the participants, will be blind to the type of medication they are taking. intervention 2: The medication will be administered in the same manner, regardless of active or placebo, as the study physician and investigators, as well as the participants, will be blind to the type of medication they are taking.

Protocol document: