VA Office of Research and Development
KEY INFORMATION: The purpose of this study is to understand how insulin resistance (how your body processes sugar) and PTSD might be related. The goal is to improve the health of Veterans in three ways: 1. Understanding health risks: The investigators want to learn why Veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are more likely to develop medical problems related to insulin resistance, such as diabetes. 2. Testing effects of a medication: The investigators are testing whether prazosin, a medication that studies have shown may address some PTSD symptoms, can also improve how the body responds to insulin. If it does, this could point to a specific biological pathway that could be targeted for development of new treatments to prevent insulin resistance and diabetes in Veterans with PTSD. 3. Links to depression. The investigators will also look at whether insulin sensitivity affects depression symptoms in people with PTSD. This may inform future research into treatments for PTSD.
Background and Study Objective: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) affects as many as 15% of Veterans following deployment and is associated with high rates of medical comorbidities linked to insulin resistance (IR), which is present in over half of people with PTSD. PTSD severity is prospectively associated with increased risk of both worsening IR severity and new-onset type 2 diabetes mellitus, leading to premature mortality. Biological effects of trauma exposure are linked to downstream disruption of both brain and metabolic processes, with mounting evidence that trauma-related mechanism…
Inclusion Criteria: 1. Veteran of the US military 2. Diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) defined by Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) symptom count on Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5 (CAPS-5) Exclusion Criteria: 1. Any form of diabetes as defined by the American Diabetes Association. Exceptions may be made for participants with previously undiagnosed, early, asymptomatic Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) who meet American Diabetes Association criteria for diabetes during study screening who wish to be included 2. Diagnosis of DSM-5-define…
All participants will receive prazosin for 12 weeks
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