Delayed-onset posttraumatic stress disorder with response to methylphenidate

Abstract

Introduction

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is extremely frequent in war veterans and has been widely studied. However, the efficacy of currently available pharmacological and psychotherapeutic treatments of war PTSD and other causes of PTSD is very limited.

Method

We present a case of war PTSD with delayed expression, with a good response to complementation with methylphenidate after a failed treatment with venlafaxine and risperidone.

Results

We review the role of dopamine in the pathophysiology of PTSD and the scarce studies in the treatment of PTSD with dopaminergic drugs that show an improvement in re-experimentation and in affective symptoms, especially anhedonia and cognitive impairment.

Conclusions

We conclude that the use of methylphenidate and other dopaminergic drugs can be a promising treatment for PTSD, a high prevalent disease with a high resistance to treatment, for which we encourage the use of large sample studies.