Treatment of Pediatric Post-traumatic Stress Disorder With Memory Reactivation Under the Influence of Propranolol: A Randomized Placebo-controlled Trial. PPP
By age 18, roughly 8% of traumatized youth have met criteria for a diagnosis of PTSD, with numbers rising up to 40% in cases of sexual abuse and assault. To date there is no empirical support for the use of psychopharmacological interventions as treatment of pediatric PTSD. Trauma-focused psychotherapeutic/TFP approaches should be favored in childhood PTSD. However, when compared to active control conditions, TFP produced a mean effect size on child and adolescents population (g=0.83). Moreover, in therapies with a substantial exposure component, the intense and lengthy reexperiencing of the traumatic event results in a substantial proportion of participants dropping out. The reactivation of a previously consolidated memory can make it labile, subsequently requiring a re-stabilization of it called reconsolidation of the memory. Acting on these reconsolidation processes makes possible to interfere with the subsequent storage of this memory.
• Children aged 7-12 years
• CPTS-RI total score ≥40
• Primary diagnosis of PTSD (6 months or more after the traumatic event)
• Heart rate ≥ 55 bpm
• Systolic blood pressure ≥ 95 mm Hg
• Affiliation to a social security scheme
• Written consent signed by the parents/holders of parental authority and the investigator
• Acceptance of the protocol by the child-Child and Parents/Holders of parental authority fluent in French