ArticleThe mental health clinician2017
D-cycloserine in the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder.
Article in The mental health clinician, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 24 citations in OpenAlex.
- Meta-analysis of Cognitive Function Following Non-severe SARS-CoV-2 Infection.Neuropsychology review · 2025Pooled it
- Randomized controlled experimental study of hydrocortisone and D-cycloserine effects on fear extinction in PTSD.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2022Trial
- Randomized Controlled Trial of Riluzole Augmentation for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Efficacy of a Glutamatergic Modulator for Antidepressant-Resistant Symptoms.The Journal of clinical psychiatry · 2020Trial
- Review
- The Gut-Brain Axis and the Microbiome in Anxiety Disorders, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.Current neuropharmacology · 2024Review
- Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A State-of-the-art Review.Current neuropharmacology · 2024Review
- Enhancing Fear Extinction: Pharmacological Approaches.Current topics in behavioral neurosciences · 2023Article
- Metabotropic glutamate receptor function and regulation of sleep-wake cycles.International review of neurobiology · 2023Article
- Post-traumatic stress disorder: a state-of-the-art review of evidence and challenges.World psychiatry : official journal of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA) · 2019Article
- Augmentation of Extinction and Inhibitory Learning in Anxiety and Trauma-Related Disorders.Annual review of clinical psychology · 2019Review
- The Neurobiology and Pharmacotherapy of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.Annual review of pharmacology and toxicology · 2019Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionPosttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a common and serious psychiatric illness. Exposure therapy is a type of cognitive behavioral therapy that is considered a first-line treatment option for PTSD. D-cycloserine (DCS) enhances fear extinction/exposure therapy in patients with various anxiety disorders, presumably via its N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor partial agonist effects. The aim of this paper is to review the published literature regarding the efficacy of DCS in the treatment of PTSD.
methodsA literature search for placebo-controlled trials assessing the use of DCS as the primary study drug in PTSD was conducted for trials published before June 2015 using PubMed, Ovid International Pharmaceutical Abstracts, and www.clinicaltrials.gov. The search terms were variations of "cycloserine" and "posttraumatic stress disorder."
resultsSeven clinical trials were analyzed, including 2 trials comparing DCS with placebo as add-on treatment to ongoing stable pharmacotherapy and 5 trials that compared DCS with placebo given prior to exposure therapy. D-cycloserine as adjunctive therapy showed no benefit in 1 trial and limited benefit in the other. As an enhancement of exposure therapy, DCS showed beneficial effects in 1 trial, detrimental effects in 1 trial, and inconclusive effects in 3 trials. DISCUSSION: Current literature does not adequately support the use of DCS as adjunctive therapy without psychotherapy, but limitations of the 2 studies that exist make firm conclusions unfeasible. D-cycloserine might have a role in augmentation of exposure therapy. Future studies should consider receptor selectivity, administration time with respect to peak cerebrospinal fluid concentrations, number of exposure therapy sessions, and dose.
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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.