SynthesisProgress in neuro-psychopharmacology & biological psychiatry2009
Pharmacologic alternatives to antidepressants in posttraumatic stress disorder: a systematic review.
Synthesis in Progress in neuro-psychopharmacology & biological psychiatry, 2009. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT07664631 (Effects of Stimulant Medications in PTSD), which is not on this map. Cited by 121 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Effects of Stimulant Medications in PTSD
Who cites it
121 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 339 citations in OpenAlex.
- Position Paper for the Treatment of Nightmare Disorder in Adults: An American Academy of Sleep Medicine Position Paper.Journal of clinical sleep medicine : JCSM : official publication of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine · 2018Guideline
- Treatment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders with the Alpha-1 Adrenergic Antagonist Prazosin.Canadian journal of psychiatry. Revue canadienne de psychiatrie · 2017Pooled it
- Effects of Pharmacotherapy on Combat-Related PTSD, Anxiety, and Depression: A Systematic Review and Meta-Regression Analysis.PloS one · 2015Pooled it
- Treatment of nightmares with prazosin: a systematic review.Mayo Clinic proceedings · 2012Pooled it
- Best practice guide for the treatment of nightmare disorder in adults.Journal of clinical sleep medicine : JCSM : official publication of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine · 2010Guideline
- Efficacy and Safety of the Neuroplastogen TSND-201 for the Treatment of PTSD: A Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA psychiatry · 2026Trial
- Amygdala-related electroencephalogram neurofeedback as add-on therapy for treatment-resistant childhood sexual abuse posttraumatic stress disorder: feasibility study.Psychiatry and clinical neurosciences · 2024Trial
- The novel vasopressin receptor (V1aR) antagonist SRX246 reduces anxiety in an experimental model in humans: a randomized proof-of-concept study.Psychopharmacology · 2021Trial
- Associations between resting-state functional connectivity and treatment response in a randomized clinical trial for posttraumatic stress disorder.Depression and anxiety · 2020Trial
- The role of negative affect in the association between attention bias to threat and posttraumatic stress: An eye-tracking study.Psychiatry research · 2020Trial
- Trial
- Noradrenergic vs serotonergic antidepressant with or without naltrexone for veterans with PTSD and comorbid alcohol dependence.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2012Trial
- Serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor predicts responses to escitalopram in chronic posttraumatic stress disorder.Progress in neuro-psychopharmacology & biological psychiatry · 2010Trial
- Visual analysis of interventions and treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder in the military population over the past decade: a study based on the PubMed database.European journal of psychotraumatology · 2026Review
- Ketogenic therapy as a potential novel treatment approach for PTSD: an integrative review and proposed mechanistic model.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Review
- From Bench to Bedside: Understanding General Anesthetics' Impact on PTSD.Current neuropharmacology · 2026Review
- Hyperpolarization-Activated Channel 1 Modulates Resilience and Susceptibility to Social Avoidance Induced by Witnessing Social Defeat Stress.Biological psychiatry · 2025Article
- Understanding sexual dysfunction in french military service member with PTSD: findings from a descriptive study.Basic and clinical andrology · 2025Article
- Trauma and Sensory Systems: Biological Mechanisms Involving the Skin and the 17q21 Gene Cluster.Biological psychiatry · 2025Review
- Surface Plasmon Resonance Imaging-Based Platform Enables Detection of Single, Site-Specific 5-Methylcytosine Associated with Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).ACS pharmacology & translational science · 2025Article
61 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
The selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are considered the first-line pharmacological treatment for PTSD. However, even when treated with this class of drugs, response rates rarely exceed 60% and less than 20-30% of the patients achieve full remission. The aim of this study was to address this limitation by systematically reviewing the options left for the treatment of PTSD when patients do not respond satisfactorily to or tolerate SSRIs. A systematic review covering all original articles, letters and brief reports published in any language until October 2008 was conducted through searches in the ISI/Web of Science, PubMed and PILOTS databases. The search terms included the pharmacological class of each agent or its generic name plus "PTSD" or "stress disorder" in the title, in the abstract or as a keyword. Sixty-three articles were selected, covering the following categories: antipsychotics, anticonvulsants, adrenergic-inhibiting agents, opioid antagonists, benzodiazepines and other agents. None of the identified agents reached the level A of scientific evidence, 5 reached level B, 7 level C and 13 level D. The non-antidepressant agent with the strongest scientific evidence supporting its use in PTSD is risperidone, which can be envisaged as an effective add-on therapy when patients did not fully benefit from previous treatment with SSRIs. Prazosin, an adrenergic-inhibiting agent, is a promising alternative for cases of PTSD where nightmares and insomnia are prominent symptoms. So far, there is no consistent empirical support for using benzodiazepines in the prevention or in the treatment of PTSD, although these drugs could alleviate some associated non-specific symptoms, such as insomnia or anxiety. Further controlled clinical trials and meta-analysis are needed to guide clinicians in their search of effective pharmacological alternatives to antidepressants in PTSD.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.