Brain test could match PTSD veterans to the right medication
NCT ID NCT06852469
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study investigates whether a clinical test using lorazepam (Ativan) and brain imaging can identify veterans with PTSD who might benefit from medications that boost GABA signaling. Researchers aim to validate a computational method to distinguish subgroups of PTSD patients based on anxious arousal. The study involves 150 veterans, some with PTSD and some without, who will take either lorazepam or a placebo and perform motor tasks while their brain activity is measured.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Lorazepam (Ativan)
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could lead to a simple test that helps doctors match the right PTSD medication to each veteran, improving treatment outcomes.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early-phase study focused on validating a test, not on treatment itself. The test may not prove reliable, and results may not apply to all PTSD patients.
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 4
Runs after approval, following long-term safety and how well the treatment works in everyday use.
- Participants
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About 150 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Jul 2025
- Expected to finish
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Jun 2029
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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A government agency
The lead sponsor is a US federal agency other than the NIH.
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 65 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
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: Inclusion Criteria: 1. Veteran; 2. 18-65 years of age, inclusive; 3. Participants must be willing to abstain from alcohol 24 hours prior to and 24 hours after the testing session; 4. Participants must be able to participate and willing to give written informed consent and to comply with the study restrictions; Additional Inclusion Criteria for PTSD Group: (a) Current diagnosis of PTSD based on CAPS-5. Exclusion Criteria: Exclusion Criteria: 1. Has uncontrolled, clinically significant neurologic (including seizure disorders), cardiovascular, pulmonary, hepatic, renal, metabolic, gastrointestinal, urologic, immunologic, endocrine disease, or psychiatric disorder, or other abnormality, which may impact the ability of the subject to participate or potentially confound the study results; 2. Pregnancy (assessed by urine test at time of screening and prior to administration of study medication) or lactation; 3. Lifetime history of a chronic psychotic disorder or bipolar disorder type I as assessed by MINI; 4. Current moderate or severe substance use disorder as assessed by MINI; 5. Positive urine toxicology (drugs of abuse as determined by a positive urine test) at screening and before drug administration. Subjects who screen positive for THC will be given an opportunity to be included in the event of a negative urine test 2 weeks later. THC is not infrequently used for medicinal purposes and, in California, is legal for recreational use. Subjects who are positive for THC will therefore not be excluded, but will be retested to ensure that THC is unlikely to be influencing results; 6. Self-report or observable signs of drug or alcohol intoxication or withdrawal; 7. Current benzodiazepine or opioid use; other psychotropic medications are allowed as long as they are at a stable dose for at least 2 weeks and do not exhibit an unsafe interaction with the study medication; 8. Current or recent use of any medication deemed by the study physician (Dr. Howlett) to exhibit an unsafe interaction with lorazepam; 9. Past intolerance (including allergic) to lorazepam or another benzodiazepine; 10. Active suicidal ideation or otherwise considered at high suicidal risk by trained study staff using the C-SSRS; 11. History of a traumatic brain injury (TBI) resulting in loss of consciousness for more than 30 minutes; 12. Volunteers who do not have sufficient command of the English language, or who have any other impairment that would prevent them from reading and understanding the informed consent form(s) and completing the study procedures including clinical testing; 13. Any other reason why, per study physician, the subject should not participate in this study, including concomitant disease or condition that could interfere with, or for which the study drug might interfere with, the conduct of the study, or that would, in the opinion of the study physician, pose an unacceptable risk to the subject in this study. Additional Exclusion Criteria for HC Group: (a) Axis I disorder as assessed by MINI. Additional Exclusion Criteria for fMRI Participants: 1. Contraindication to magnetic resonance imaging. 2. Not right-handed as assessed by Edinburgh Handedness Inventory.
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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
1 site. 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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VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA
RECRUITINGSan Diego, California, 92161-0002, United States
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- Online course aims to boost mental health for teens leaving foster care
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