Volunteers sought for nerve block study for PTSD

If you are on active duty and have been diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder or think that you might have PTSD, you may be eligible to participate in a new study at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center.

The Stellate Ganglion Block for PTSD study is designed to evaluate whether injecting a local anesthetic into the Stellate Ganglion can reduce PTSD symptoms. The Stellate Ganglion is a group of nerve cells and nerves in your neck that help control your body’s arousal. It moderates your “fight or flight” response.

LRMC joins Womack Army Medical Center and Tripler Army Medical Center in the research study being conducted by RTI International, an independent, nonprofit research organization dedicated to conducting research that improves the human condition, and funded by U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command. Service members can receive up to $115 for the time they spend participating in the study.

Although the study is new at LRMC, the procedure itself is currently offered at the LRMC Pain Clinic. Maj. (Dr.) Ali Turabi, LRMC Pain Clinic chief, said he welcomes the opportunity to participate in the study to help validate the effectiveness for the Stellate Ganglion Block procedure.

“It would be extremely rewarding to see this procedure validated as helping alleviate the symptoms associated with PTSD,” Turabi said. “This research may have significant benefit for the military and others suffering with PTSD.”

RTI is glad for the opportunity to add LRMC to the list of Army medical centers participating in the study, said Kristine L. Rae Olmsted, RTI research epidemiologist and co-principal investigator of the study.

“LRMC is the largest military hospital outside the continental United States, and as such, we believe it may serve as a major source of referrals for this critical study,” Rae Olmsted said.

If you are interested in participating or would like more information, contact Cliff Morgan, LRMC research coordinator for the study, by phone at 01523-276-2184, by email at cmorgan@sgb.rti.org or visit the RTI website at https://sgbstudy.rti.org/.