FYI...per CBS 60 minutes this evening...
The procedure, is only available in 12 of the 172 VA hospitals, and is commonly used since the 1920s for treating chronic pain, consists of injecting a local anesthetic into a cluster of nerves deep in the neck called the stellate ganglion. Dr. Michael Alkire of the Long Beach, California, VA is studying how SGB works by pinpointing the changes in the parts of the brain affected by PTSD. He says 80 percent of his SGB patients had relief from depression and suicidal thoughts. He was shocked at first, "Because there's very few things in medicine that work that quickly," he says. When Whitaker characterizes SGB as "rebooting" the veterans' brains, Dr. Alkire responds, "A very good way to think of it."
The effects of SGB can last up to six months, for some even longer. SGB is not a cure, but for PTSD sufferers...
The Army is now funding the first clinical trial of SGB. Says Bolduc, "I think [SGB is] hugely important and it needs to be an intervention that's part of every post-traumatic stress therapy."
Results shown during the show were immediate...quite amazing that there may be something on the immediate horizon to assist ptsd sufferers.
The procedure, is only available in 12 of the 172 VA hospitals, and is commonly used since the 1920s for treating chronic pain, consists of injecting a local anesthetic into a cluster of nerves deep in the neck called the stellate ganglion. Dr. Michael Alkire of the Long Beach, California, VA is studying how SGB works by pinpointing the changes in the parts of the brain affected by PTSD. He says 80 percent of his SGB patients had relief from depression and suicidal thoughts. He was shocked at first, "Because there's very few things in medicine that work that quickly," he says. When Whitaker characterizes SGB as "rebooting" the veterans' brains, Dr. Alkire responds, "A very good way to think of it."
The effects of SGB can last up to six months, for some even longer. SGB is not a cure, but for PTSD sufferers...
The Army is now funding the first clinical trial of SGB. Says Bolduc, "I think [SGB is] hugely important and it needs to be an intervention that's part of every post-traumatic stress therapy."
Could a simple shot be a breakthrough treatment for PTSD?
Stellate ganglion block therapy has helped a number of soldiers deal with PTSD and now they're calling for it to be used more widely. Bill Whitaker reports, Sunday on 60 Minutes.
www.cbsnews.com
Results shown during the show were immediate...quite amazing that there may be something on the immediate horizon to assist ptsd sufferers.