Posted 7/17/2008

Exercise Science professor to study treatments for
 combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder

Dr. Shawn Youngstedt

Department of Exercise Science assistant professor, Shawn Youngstedt, has been awarded a VA Merit Award ($600,000) to study novel treatments for combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

PTSD is the most common mental health disorder of current veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan with a prevalence of 20%. Present treatments for PTSD are inadequate, so there is a need to test alternative or adjunct treatments.

Dr. Youngstedt and colleagues are about to embark on a 3-year study of 70 Iraq or Afghanistan war veterans with combat-related PTSD. The veterans will be randomly assigned to one of  two 4-week treatments which could have positive effects on their symptoms: daily exposure to 45 min of bright light or negative ions.

Participants will receive a psychiatric examination before and after the experiment, and they will complete weekly questionnaires related to mood, anxiety and sleep.

Colleagues on the project will include Drs. Jack Ginsberg and Donald Powell at the Dorn VA, Christopher Kline, a PhD student, and Dr. Ron Murphy of Francis Marion University.