Cortisol Augmentation of a Psychological Treatment in Warfighters With Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

February 4, 2013 updated by: Rachel Yehuda, Bronx VA Medical Center
This study seeks to examine the efficacy of hydrocortisone administration in the augmentation of the therapeutic effects of Prolonged Exposure (PE) therapy, an empirically tested treatment shown to be effective in the the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The augmentation builds on both the translation of neuroscience findings demonstrating the effects of glucocorticoids (GCs) on learning, and on empirical clinical findings from other investigators demonstrating beneficial effects of GCs in reducing traumatic memories in trauma-exposed persons.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Unknown

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Anticipated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
50

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • New York
      • Bronx, New York, United States, 10468
        • Recruiting
        • James J. Peters Veterans Affairs Medical Center

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 89 years (ADULT, OLDER_ADULT)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • A primary diagnosis of chronic PTSD according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) diagnostic criteria, resulting from a deployment-related traumatic event, and a minimum PTSD severity of 50 (CAPS).
  • The veteran must either be unmedicated or on a stable psychotropic regimen (i.e., 1 or more months on the same regimen).

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Lifetime history of psychotic disorder, bipolar disorder, or obsessive compulsive disorder.
  • Moderate or severe traumatic brain injury (TBI).
  • A medical or mental health problem other than PTSD that requires immediate clinical attention.
  • Substance abuse or dependence within the last 3 months.
  • Suicidal risk (as determined by response of 5 or 6 on the suicidality items of the Montgomery Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS)) and/or assessed suicide risk on the basis of clinical judgment.
  • Persons on a psychotropic medication regimen that has not been consistent for one month.
  • Presence of diabetes mellitus or any current unstable medical illness or condition that represents a contraindication to taking glucocorticoids (this will be determined by history and/or abnormal laboratory findings at medical clearance).
  • Unwillingness to discontinue other specialized psychotherapy for PTSD during the 10 weeks of study treatment and the 6 week follow-up. (Self-help (non-trauma focused) groups or supportive counseling can be continued but not initiated.)
  • Pregnant women or those planning to become pregnant within the study period will not be enrolled. Female participants must agree to use an effective method of birth control (i.e., oral contraceptive, Norplant, diaphragm, condom, or spermicide, abstinence) during the course of the study to ensure they do not become pregnant during the course of the study.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: TREATMENT
  • Allocation: RANDOMIZED
  • Interventional Model: PARALLEL
  • Masking: QUADRUPLE

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
ACTIVE_COMPARATOR: Prolonged Exposure therapy with Hydrocortisone
Behavioral: Prolonged Exposure therapy
10 weekly sessions
Drug: Hydrocortisone
30mg 20 minutes prior to each PE session including imaginal exposure (8 total)
PLACEBO_COMPARATOR: Prolonged Exposure therapy with placebo
Behavioral: Prolonged Exposure therapy
10 weekly sessions

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Time Frame
PTSD symptom severity as assessed by the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS)
Time Frame: week 0
week 0
PTSD symptom severity as assessed by the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS)
Time Frame: week 10
week 10
PTSD symptom severity as assessed by the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS)
Time Frame: week 16
week 16

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Cognitive performance (learning and retention in an episodic memory task, attention and working memory)
Time Frame: week 0
week 0
Cognitive performance (learning and retention in an episodic memory task, attention and working memory)
Time Frame: week 10
week 10
Cognitive performance (learning and retention in an episodic memory task, attention and working memory)
Time Frame: week 16
week 16
Other measures of clinical outcome, psychological state and functioning
Time Frame: week 0
week 0
Other measures of clinical outcome, psychological state and functioning
Time Frame: week 10
week 10
Other measures of clinical outcome, psychological state and functioning
Time Frame: week 16
week 16
Biological measures associated with PTSD severity
Time Frame: week 0
week 0
Biological measures associated with PTSD severity
Time Frame: week 10
week 10
Biological measures associated with PTSD severity
Time Frame: week 16
week 16

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Bronx VA Medical Center

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
Lightfighter Trust

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
February 1, 2010

Primary Completion (ANTICIPATED)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
November 1, 2013

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
March 11, 2010

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
March 19, 2010

First Posted (ESTIMATE)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
March 22, 2010

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (ESTIMATE)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
February 5, 2013

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
February 4, 2013

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
February 1, 2013

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • LFT2009-02-1

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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