Beta-Blocker may rewrite traumatic memories in PTSD
NCT ID NCT07792122
First seen Aug 28, 2026 · Last updated Aug 28, 2026
Summary
This trial tests whether propranolol, a blood pressure drug, can reduce PTSD symptoms in women who have experienced severe violence. Participants take propranolol and then revisit their traumatic memories in a structured session with a psychologist. The study compares this approach to standard trauma-focused psychotherapy, measuring PTSD symptom severity after treatment.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- propranolol, a beta-blocker, combined with reactivation of traumatic memories
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could offer a new treatment option for women with PTSD after violence, potentially reducing symptoms with fewer sessions than standard therapy.
- What could go wrong
- The trial is still in phase 3 with 70 participants, so results may not apply to all PTSD patients. Propranolol can cause side effects like low blood pressure and fatigue, and the treatment may not work for everyone.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Phase 3
Large-scale testing in a bigger group. Usually the last step before a treatment can be approved.
- Participants
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About 70 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Expected to start
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Sep 2026
An estimate. Start dates often move.
- Expected to finish
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Mar 2030
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 to 75 years
- Sex
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Female participants only
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Women aged from 18 to 75 years * Having been victim of severe violence (rape, sexual assault, physical assault) Currently suffering from PTSD related to the traumatic event. The diagnosis of PTSD is made according to the DSM-5 criteria by a psychiatrist/psychologist using the CAPS-5, regardless of the traumatic event meeting criterion A of the DSM-5, with or without dissociative symptoms as described in the "With dissociative symptoms" section of the DSM-5, Immediate or delayed PTSD CAPS-5 total score ≥ 33 heart rate ≥ 55 bpm * The subject must have signed the consent form. * The subject must be enrolled in a social security program. * The participant must be able to understand and read French. * The participant agrees to comply with the contraception requirements outlined in the protocol. Exclusion Criteria: * Systolic blood pressure below 100 mm Hg. * Contraindications to the administration of propranolol: Asthma, Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Decompensated heart failure, Cardiogenic shock, Unpaced second-degree atrioventricular block, Unpaced third-degree atrioventricular block, Spasmodic angina, Uncompensated sinus node dysfunction, bradycardia, Raynaud's syndrome, severe peripheral circulatory disorder, untreated pheochromocytoma, arterial hypotension, hypersensitivity to beta-blockers, history of anaphylactic allergic reaction. * Heart failure (compensated or decompensated) * Severe liver disease * Significant renal impairment * Myasthenia gravis * Personal or family history of psoriasis * Patients who have suffered a head injury within the past year or who have clinical symptoms and residual neurological sequelae * Wearing contact lenses * Severe psychiatric disorders: Severe symptoms of other anxiety disorders, severe symptoms of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, history of or current psychotic disorder, bipolar mood disorder, severe personality disorder, alcohol or other substance use disorder * "Yes" response to item 4 of the C-SSRS: active suicidal ideation with intent to act, without a specific plan, and/or "Yes" response to item 5 of the C-SSRS: active suicidal ideation with a specific plan and intent to act * Hospitalized or treated for suicidal behavior within the past 3 months * Previous intolerance to a beta-blocker. * Women of childbearing age not using contraception. * Pregnancy, breastfeeding. * Current use of a beta-blocker, regardless of the formulation. * Known interactions with Propranolol (combination use not recommended and combinations to be used with caution) as indicated in the summary of product characteristics. * Undergoing psychotherapy or pharmacological treatment with psychotropic agents such as antidepressants, neuroleptics, and/or mood stabilizers. However, these subjects may be included after a 2-week therapeutic abstinence period (6 weeks for treatment with fluoxetine). * Patients under judicial protection, under guardianship or curatorship, individuals under family authorization, or under a future protection order with representation regarding the person * Participants who are related to a person involved in the study at the investigator's center, within the clinical research organization (CRO), or at the sponsor * Participation in another interventional research study, clinical trial, or clinical investigation within the 6 months preceding selection
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
2 sites. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Lapeyronie Hospital - Montpellier University Hospital
Montpellier, 34 295, France
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Toulouse University Hospital - Psychiatry Department
Toulouse, 31 059, France
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
- Can talk therapies quiet the trauma of violence?
- Could pausing psychiatric pills boost PTSD therapy?
- Can emotional patterns reveal the true nature of teen trauma?
- Zapping the Brain's fear hub: a new hope for PTSD?
- Grappling with trauma: could martial arts ease first Responders' stress?
- Three sessions to heal grief: EMDR therapy put to the test for earthquake survivors