Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2011 Oct;17(5):305-10.
doi: 10.1111/j.1755-5949.2010.00188.x. Epub 2010 Sep 23.

A double-blind randomized controlled trial to study the efficacy of topiramate in a civilian sample of PTSD

Mary S L Yeh  1 , Jair Jesus Mari, Mariana Caddrobi Pupo Costa, Sergio Baxter Andreoli, Rodrigo Affonseca Bressan, Marcelo Feijó Mello
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

A double-blind randomized controlled trial to study the efficacy of topiramate in a civilian sample of PTSD

Mary S L Yeh et al. CNS Neurosci Ther. 2011 Oct.

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of topiramate in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Method: We conducted a 12-week double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study comparing topiramate to placebo. Men and women aged 18-62 years with diagnosis of PTSD according to DSM-IV were recruited from the outpatient clinic of the violence program of Federal University of São Paulo Hospital (Prove-UNIFESP), São Paulo City, between April 2006 and December 2009. Subjects were assessed for the Clinician-Administered Posttraumatic Stress Scale (CAPS), Clinical Global Impression, and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). After 1-week period of washout, 35 patients were randomized to either group. The primary outcome measure was the CAPS total score changes from baseline to the endpoint.

Results: 82.35% of patients in the topiramate group exhibited improvements in PTSD symptoms. The efficacy analysis demonstrated that patients in the topiramate group exhibited significant improvements in reexperiencing symptoms: flashbacks, intrusive memories, and nightmares of the trauma (CAPS-B; P= 0.04) and in avoidance/numbing symptoms associated with the trauma, social isolation, and emotional numbing (CAPS-C; P= 0.0001). Furthermore, the experimental group demonstrated a significant difference in decrease in CAPS total score (topiramate -57.78; placebo -32.41; P= 0.0076). Mean topiramate dose was 102.94 mg/d. Topiramate was generally well tolerated.

Conclusion: Topiramate was effective in improving reexperiencing and avoidance/numbing symptom clusters in patients with PTSD. This study supports the use of anticonvulsants for the improvement of symptoms of PTSD.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The Consort flowchart of the topiramate for PTSD randomized controlled trial.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. American Psychiatric Association . Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, 3rd ed. Washington DC : APA, 1980.
    1. Kessler RC, Sonnega A, Bromet E, Hughes M, Nelson CB. Posttraumatic stress disorder in the National Comorbidity Survey. Arch Gen Psychiatry 1995;52:1048–1060. - PubMed
    1. Stein DJ, Ipser JC, Seedat S. Pharmacotherapy for posttraumatic stress disorder. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2006;25:CD 002795. - PubMed
    1. American Psychiatric Association . Practice guideline for the treatment of patients with acute stress disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder. Washington , DC : APA, 2004. - PubMed
    1. Post RM, Weiss SR, Smith M, Li H, McCann U. Kindling versus quenching. Implications for the evolution and treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder. Ann N Y Acad Sci 1997;821:285–295. - PubMed

Publication types