At a glance
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Management of Chronic Pain and PTSD in Gulf War Veterans With tDCS+Prolonged Exposure
In Brief
A clinical study evaluating Home-based tDCS and Prolonged Exposure Therapy for Chronic Pain and PTSD. Completed, enrolled 21 participants across 1 site.
Detailed Summary
Gulf War Veterans (a DoD/VA defined service era corresponding to the first Gulf War under operations Desert Storm and Desert Shield 1990-1991), especially those who present with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), are particularly likely to experience chronic pain. Veterans with co-morbid chronic pain and PTSD utilize healthcare services at a higher rate than those with pain or PTSD alone. Unfortunately, there are no integrated treatments for Pain and PTSD. Moreover, non-pharmacological treatments for pain such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy are useful in only about 50% of cases. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) may be an effective treatment for pain, and has been recently used to ameliorate PTSD symptoms. Prolonged Exposure Therapy (PE) is highly effective in treating PTSD symptoms. Therefore, we propose to (a) integrate \& (b) gather feasibility data for home-based tDCS + PE for Pain and PTSD with 15 Gulf War Veterans. The Overall Aim of the present proposal is to integrate, refine and investigate the feasibility (e.g., pilot testing, recruitment, attrition, assessment) of tDCS for treating chronic pain with a best practices evidence-based treatment for PTSD (i.e., Prolonged Exposure: PE) in 15 Gulf War veterans, a group for which both pain (fibromyalgia) and PTSD are particularly problematic.
Study Details
Timeline
Interventions
tDCS is a non-invasive neuromodulation technique that has been used to improved cognitive functions. It will be administered with a constant current intensity of 2 mA57 for 20 min per session/ 10 sessions total daily for 2 weeks (Monday to Friday). The device is a Soterix 1x1 tDCS mini-CT Stimulator (Soterix Medical Inc., NY) with headgear and 5 \_ 7 cm saline-soaked surface sponge electrodes.
Prolonged Exposure Therapy is a treatment for PTSD that includes the following components: a) psycho-education about the common reactions to traumatic events and presentation of the treatment rationale (sessions 1 and 2), b) repeated in vivo exposure to traumatic stimuli (in vivo exercises are assigned as homework during sessions 3 through 11), c) repeated, prolonged, imaginal exposure to traumatic memories (imaginal exposure is implemented during sessions 3 through 11; patients listen to session audiotapes for homework between sessions), and d) relapse prevention strategies and further treatment planning (session 12).