A fMRI Study of the Treatment of Danish Veterans With Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder With Prolonged Exposure Therapy: Study Protocol for a Case-control Trial
A fMRI Study of the Treatment of Danish Veterans With Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder With Prolonged Exposure Therapy: Study Protocol for a Case-control Trial
In this article, the investigators report the design and protocol of a functional magnetic resonance imaging study (fMRI) of the treatment of Danish veterans with PTSD with Prolonged Exposure Therapy (PE). In total 30 Danish veterans will be recruited, who meet the ICD-10 diagnostic criteria for PTSD, and treated with PE. A group of controls will be recruited consisting of age-appropriate same sex veterans who have participated in international missions similar to the patient group
Primary outcome measures are the changes in d2-test assessment of attention and concentration, Beck Depression Inventory, Post-traumatic Symptom Scale-Interview version and PTSD Checklist- Military Version.
Secondary outcome measures concern changes of Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BNDF) and changes in the brain structure with focus on the hippocampal function using fMRI.
Inclusion Criteria:
Exclusion Criteria:
Participants who have an active abuse of psychoactive substances with daily consumption.
Participants who consume more than 21 units of alcohol per week, and who, during the last month, have had repetitive episodes with craving, episodes of loss of control due to alcohol consumption, and a weakened ability to manage consumption, stop or reduce consumption
Participants who have a current ICD-10 diagnosis within:
Participants who have a daily intake of sedative, anxiolytic
Participants who score below 23 on the Mini Mental State Examination, and (5)
Participants who within the last 3 months have had a serious suicide attempt.
Exclusion criteria related to the fMRI scanning include: