Fluvoxamine Treatment for Chronic PTSD
A group of 24 Dutch World War II Resistance veterans with a documented traumatic war history and a positive diagnosis of current Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) was studied. This special group of war victims is characterised by chronicity, and has been suffering from intractable posttraumatic complaints for decades. They were invited to participate in a treatment study with fluvoxamine (Fevarin), a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor with antidepressive and anxiolytic properties. The study was designed as an open-ended, outpatient pilot study, with a treatment period of 12 weeks. Results of clinical examination, and questionnaires investigating PTSD, depression, sleep problems, anxiety, and vital exhaustion indicate that a modest improvement was attained with respect to their PTSD symptomatology, and their symptoms of insomnia, anxiety and vital exhaustion. The results indicate that treatment with fluvoxamine may offer alleviation of chronic PTSD symptoms, such as nightmares, intrusive recollections, and guilt feelings.