By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    improving patient experience
    6 Ways to Improve Patient Satisfaction Within Hospitals
    December 1, 2021
    degree for healthcare job
    What Are The Health Benefits Of Having A Degree?
    March 9, 2022
    custom software development is changing healthcare
    Digital Customer Journey Mapping and its Importance for Healthcare
    July 21, 2022
    Latest News
    6 Easy Healthcare Ways to Sit Less and Move More Every Day
    September 10, 2025
    7 Most Common Healthcare Accreditation Programs: Which Should You Use?
    August 20, 2025
    Hospital Pest Control and the Fight Against Superbugs
    August 20, 2025
    Hygiene Beyond The Clinic: Attention To Overlooked Non-Clinical Spaces
    August 13, 2025
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    10 Lessons I’ve Learned from Premature Babies in the NICU
    August 21, 2011
    Causes of the Crisis in Primary Care
    April 2, 2014
    Physician Wellness – Saying “NO” to Endless Hours and Solo Practice
    January 28, 2012
    Latest News
    Healthcare at a Crossroads: Why Leadership Matters More Than Ever
    September 9, 2025
    How Social Security Disability Shapes Access to Care and Everyday Health
    August 22, 2025
    How a DUI Lawyer Can Help When Your Future Health Feels Uncertain
    August 22, 2025
    How One Fall Can Lead to a Long Road of Medical Complications
    August 22, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: PTSD Special Report, Part II: Promising Treatments and Emerging Opportunities
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > News > PTSD Special Report, Part II: Promising Treatments and Emerging Opportunities
News

PTSD Special Report, Part II: Promising Treatments and Emerging Opportunities

HerinaAyot
HerinaAyot
Share
7 Min Read
SHARE

This is Part II of our special report on PTSD, a survey of the rising causes for concern and potential treatments to combat it. Part II discusses the consequences of opioids and addictive painkillers, and the novel approach taken to treat PTSD.

This is Part II of our special report on PTSD, a survey of the rising causes for concern and potential treatments to combat it. Part II discusses the consequences of opioids and addictive painkillers, and the novel approach taken to treat PTSD. Part II pays special attention to an intriguing company with emerging technology, TONIX Pharmaceuticals, as part of the medical community’s push to identify a link between PTSD and central nervous system conditions. This approach may yield a variety of treatment options that do not lead to addiction, for which PTSD sufferers may be most at risk.

After officials determined more than 35 percent of wounded soldiers become addicted to pain medication. the U.S. Army’s Surgeon General, Lt. Gen. Patricia D. Horoho, addressed the pain management task force, created in 2010 to look into alternatives to the use of pain medications to treat PTSD.

“I do believe we’re on the right track,” Horoho said. “We’ve seen a decrease in the reliance of polypharmacy — multiple drugs, and many of our warriors have used yoga, acupressure, acupuncture, mindfulness and sleep management vice narcotic pain medicine we’re seeing better patient outcomes.”

More Read

Don’t Ignore A Bad Fall: Signs You Need To Be Aware Of
What To Expect On A Meditation Retreat In Miami
Treatment with Antidepressant Results in Lower Rate of Mental Stress-Induced Heart Attack
Rite Aid Stores Hosts RV Tour For a Free Skin Cancer Screen
What’s a Guy Like Me Doing at the Consumer Electronics Show, Anyway?

Former Special Operations Command deputy and now retired Lt. Gen. David Fridovich in December 2010 admitted publicly that he’d been a narcotics addict for five years as the result of the pain caused by a shattered vertebra.

Time Magazine reports that veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan war suffering from PTSD are more than twice as likely to receive opioid medications for pain as their fellow vets. Veterans with PTSD, however, are more likely to overdose on drugs or alcohol, be involved in violence, self-harming behavior or have other accidents.

The story cites prescriptions given to nearly 30 percent of vets with PTSD and other mental health afflictions, compared with about 7 percent of those who did not have such disorders. Previous research suggests that people with PTSD suffer both more pain, as well as a possible deficit of the brain’s natural painkillers.

Why would the most at-risk group be prescribed these addictive and harsh painkillers with greater frequency? There is no question that some treatments are needed; however, are dependency-producing opioids the proper method? Medical advances in the form of proper brain scans may soon provide clarity.

“The MEG scan results couldn’t be clearer – we can separate veterans with PTSD from veterans without to around 97% accuracy,” Brian Engdahl, a psychologist at The University of Minnesota’s Brain Science Center, said in a Minnesota Public Radio interview. “It’s like nothing that’s been seen before. PTSD is a dramatic, visible difference that characterizes the brain.”

Mild traumatic brain injury leaves a mark on the brain, like a scar, he said.

“It’s there long term, if not permanent,” he said. “Mild TBI affects all parts of the brain…it looks like a blurring across all of our sensors, which fits well with what we see with clinic. Vets come in and say everything could be wrong, anything, so that suggests malfunctions in quite a number of areas of the brain that relate to feeling and perceiving.”

While the question of what to do regarding PTSD and addiction to popular painkillers remains, one company, THYPERLINK “http://www.tonixpharma.com/”ONIXHYPERLINK “http://www.tonixpharma.com/” Pharmaceuticals (OTCBB:TNXP.OB) is exploring the correlations between fibromyalgia syndrome (FM) and PTSD as a possible method of treatment for the neurological disorder.

Like PTSD, fibromyalgia syndrome is classified as a central nervous system (CNS) condition. FMS causes musculoskeletal pain, increased pain sensitivity, fatigue and disturbed sleep, and affects 5 million Americans adults, according to the National Institutes of Health.

TONIX is researching its TNX-102 for FMS treatment, and is exploring its relative, TNX-105, for PTSD treatment. Both product candidates are novel dosage formulations of cyclobenzaprine, a muscle relaxant.

Last week, TONIX announced the completion of a pharmacokinetic study on the first formulation of the company’s lead FM drug, currently in phase 2a study. In January, the company noted the decline of anti-anxiety drug use among veterans with PTSD in the last decade, as reported in a Reuters Health story. Benzodiazepines are considered very addictive, and thus researchers are now exploring links to other neurological disorders and CNS conditions to unlock alternative treatment.

A number of similarities have been noted between fibromyalgia syndrome and PTSD, according to a TONIX press release. In a survey of FMS patients, 57 percent of the sample had symptoms associated with PTSD (Cohen, Neumann et al. 2002). Further, cyclobenzaprine binds avidly to serotonin receptor type 2a (5HT2a) and blocks serotonin signaling. Clinical data suggests that other compounds that block 5HT2a signaling may be effective in the treatment of PTSD.

A recent study out of Duke University supports the connection between fibromyalgia syndrome and PTSD. Researchers have now confirmed an association of fibromyalgia and an increase of a particular anti-inflammatory byproduct of the liver – Alpha-1 Antitrypsin— which supports the complex phenotype intense creative energy (ICE). Patients with anxiety disorders, as well as PTSD, also have increased proportion ofA1AT and ICE– hence, the relationship between PTSD and fibromyalgia syndrome.

For the time being, the area of alternative therapy could also offer some help for PTSD sufferers, including yoga, meditation and other wellness programs. Various media outlets have reported a wave of returning veterans are embracing yoga as a calming therapy. Still, at best these are companion therapies to alleviate, not cure PTSD.

And as we welcome more veterans home, PTSD is being pushed into the forefront of the healthcare world. As society begins to overcome the stigma associated with the disorder, so must the medical community embrace alternative treatment options.

 

TAGGED:PTSD
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

a woman walking on the hallway
6 Easy Healthcare Ways to Sit Less and Move More Every Day
Health
September 9, 2025
Clinical Expertise
Healthcare at a Crossroads: Why Leadership Matters More Than Ever
Global Healthcare
September 9, 2025
travel nurse in north carolina
Balancing Speed and Scope: Choosing the Nursing Degree That Fits Your Goals
Nursing
September 1, 2025
intimacy
How to Keep Intimacy Comfortable as You Age
Relationship and Lifestyle Senior Care
September 1, 2025

You Might also Like

With Imbruvica (Ibrutinib) Approval CLL Options Accelerating

February 18, 2014
spinal injury
News

Spinal Cord Injuries and Personal Injury Claims – What You Need to Know

December 24, 2021

Is a Career in Naturopathic Medicine Right for You?

November 10, 2015

Why Are There Drug Shortages?

December 3, 2011
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?