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
. 2015 Dec 18:2:1-5.
doi: 10.1016/j.conctc.2015.12.003. eCollection 2016 Apr 15.

Failed efficacy of ziprasidone in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder

Sriram Ramaswamy  1   2 , David Driscoll  2 , Lynette M Smith  3 , Subhash C Bhatia  1   2 , Frederick Petty  4   5
Affiliations

Failed efficacy of ziprasidone in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder

Sriram Ramaswamy et al. Contemp Clin Trials Commun. .

Abstract

Background: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a chronic anxiety disorder that is often difficult to treat. Patients suffering from PTSD often fail to respond to antidepressants and may have a high incidence of positive symptoms of psychosis, though antipsychotic medications have been minimally studied in this population. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of the atypical antipsychotic ziprasidone (Geodon) on PTSD symptom clusters, as well as comorbid major depressive disorder. To our knowledge, this is the first completed randomized controlled trial investigating the potential efficacy and tolerability of ziprasidone in patients with chronic PTSD.

Methods: We conducted a 9-week prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of ziprasidone in 30 patients diagnosed with PTSD and comorbid depression. After screening and randomization, patients completed nine weekly study visits at which treatment safety and efficacy were evaluated. Primary measures of efficacy included total and subscale scores from the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS), while the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D), Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAM-A), Clinical Global Impression (CGI), and Treatment Outcome PTSD Scale (TOP-8) were implemented as secondary efficacy measures.

Results: We observed no significant effect of treatment on reduction of PTSD or depression symptoms from pre- to post-treatment.

Conclusions: Our findings suggest that ziprasidone treatment may not significantly improve symptoms of PTSD or comorbid depression, though further study is needed.

Keywords: Geodon; PTSD; Post-traumatic stress disorder; Ziprasidone.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

None
Fig. A.1CAPS total scores by visit for the ziprasidone group. Note: Data were unavailable for five patients at visit 7 and three patients at visit 9.1
None
Fig. A.2CAPS total scores by visit for the placebo group. Note: Data were unavailable for six patients at visit 7 and two patients at visit 9.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Kessler R.C. Posttraumatic stress disorder in the national comorbidity survey. Arch. Gen. Psychiatry. 1995;52:1048–1060. - PubMed
    1. Brady K. Efficacy and safety of sertraline treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder: a randomized controlled trial. JAMA. 2000;283:1837–1844. - PubMed
    1. Schwartz A.C., Rothbaum B.O. Review of sertraline in post-traumatic stress disorder. Expert Opin. Pharmacother. 2002;3:1489–1499. - PubMed
    1. Marshall R.D. A controlled trial of paroxetine for chronic PTSD, dissociation, and interpersonal problems in mostly minority adults, depress. Anxiety. 2007;24:77–84. - PubMed
    1. Tucker P. Paroxetine in the treatment of chronic posttraumatic stress disorder: results of a placebo-controlled, flexible-dosage trial. J. Clin. Psychiatry. 2001;62:860–868. - PubMed