Hepatitis C drugs may reduce symptoms of PTSD

More than 6 percent of Americans will develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Despite the high incidence of PTSD, the U.

PTSD is also common among veterans; More than 10 percent of U.

In a preliminary exploratory analysis of the national VA patient cohort, the researchers unexpectedly found that several novel direct-acting antiviral drugs (DAAs) used to treat hepatitis C virus infection were associated

Now, in a new follow-up study, the researchers conducted a more rigorous analysis to examine and compare the effectiveness

The new study, published on the website of the American Journal of Epidemiology, found that among the most commonly used DAAs drugs used by the Veterans Administration (VA), the drug combinations of Grecap revir and piperitavir were most strongly

"Many people have PTSD, but effective drug treatments and drug development for PTSD are limited," said

As in previous studies, the researchers examined a national cohort of VA patients, but narrowed the study to include only those diagnosed with hepatitis

"In this area, there's really an interest in finding new drugs to treat PTSD," said

Using patient care data from veterans' medical records, colleagues from Gradus, Shiner and the Veterans Administration, BUSPH, Geisel, and Harvard Medical School studied 254 veteran patients

After adjusting for variables that may have influenced outcomes— such as opioid use, liver disease diagnosis, and emergency care for mental crises — the team found that GLE/PIB drugs were more associated with improvement in PTSD symptoms than LLV/SOF and SOF/VEL treatments, consistent

"At BUSPH, we've been working with colleagues at the Veterans Administration for several years to use medical records to see how PTSD symptoms improve in routine care," Gladus said

"We recently received a grant from the Department of Defense to study GLE/PIB as a potential treatment for PTSD in a prospective randomized placebo-controlled trial," Shiner said