PTSD

Written Exposure Therapy to Improve Recovery among Sexual Assault Survivors 2022 Award: $59,168 An estimated 683,000 US women are sexually assaulted each year, and as many as half of these women experience severe posttraumatic stress symptoms six months after assault. This project tests the feasibility and initial efficacy of a five-session mental health intervention designed to prevent severe posttraumatic stress symptoms among survivors identified as being at high risk for severe posttraumatic stress symptoms. Results from this study will inform the development of a large-scale intervention trial. Need/Problem: An estimated 683,000 women in the United States are sexually assaulted each year and 1 in 5 US women are sexually assaulted in their lifetime. As many as half of these women experience severe posttraumatic stress symptoms 6 months after assault. Currently, no interventions are provided to women sexual assault survivors to [...]

Epigenetic Mechanisms of Post-traumatic Stress and Depression After Sexual Assault 2019 Award: $75,000 More than 40 million Americans each year present to US emergency departments (EDs) for evaluation after trauma exposure. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and posttraumatic major depression (PMD) are common, morbid outcomes among trauma-exposed survivors that greatly reduce mental and physical health. Posttraumatic interventions to prevent PTSD and PMD are very limited, because the molecular underpinnings of these outcomes remain poorly understood. Need/Problem: National surveys indicate that 1 in 5 adult US women are sexually assaulted during their lifetime. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and posttraumatic major depression (PMD) are common, morbid outcomes among adult women sexual assault (SA) survivors that greatly reduce mental and physical health. Posttraumatic interventions to prevent PTSD and PMD after SA are very limited, because the molecular underpinnings of these outcomes remain poorly [...]

Genetic Risk Factors of Post-traumatic Stress Disorders in Solid Organ Transplant Recipients 2019 Award: $39,886 Medical post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can be triggered by any number of surgical or medical interventions or critical illness. For example, patients awaiting a solid organ transplant face the ever-present threat of death if a matching organ does not become available; following transplantation, they live with the ongoing risk of organ rejection. Currently, we are unable to accurately predict who will suffer from PTSD or other neuropsychiatric symptoms following transplantation. However, certain genetic variants have been associated with PTSD in the general population, and could serve as susceptibility factors for the transplant population. In this project, we are testing whether these variants can help us understand if, how, and why certain patients will develop PTSD and other neuropsychiatric symptoms following solid organ transplantation. Need/Problem: [...]