Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in North Carolina Finds Relief for Veteran PTSD Sufferers
The study involved 18 service members or recent veterans, who experienced symptoms over one to 25 years. Over the course of 12 days they received an average of 19 HIRREM sessions however, the study proved flawed and requires further inspection. The number of participating veterans was not a sufficient sample, and the lack of a control group left no option for comparative analysis. Additionally, it was an open-label project, meaning that both researchers and participants knew what treatment was being administered.
Data from the involved patients was collected from six sessions, before and after, as well as three follow-up interviews given online in the 6 months post treatment. Additional patterns recorded included heart rate and blood pressure observations. Of these findings, Tegeler said, “We observed reductions in post-traumatic symptoms, including insomnia, depressive mood and anxiety that were durable through six months after the use of HIRREM, but additional research is needed to confirm these initial findings. This study is also the first to report improvement in heart rate variability and baroreflex sensitivity – physiological responses to stress – after the use of an intervention for service members or veterans with ongoing symptoms of post-traumatic stress.”Results from this study can be found on BioMed Central under the Military Medical Research journal: Successful use of closed-loop allostatic neurotechnology for post-traumatic stress symptoms in military personnel: self-reported and autonomic improvements
