Fireworks can be trigger for those with PTSD

boom of fireworks on July Fourth can be a terrifying trigger for anyone with post-traumatic stress disorder. But while sufferers in South Florida try to cope, scientists are working on a cure.

A new study from Scripps Research in Florida shows it may be possible to reprogram the emotional memories of trauma that drive post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms. PTSD can occur from going through a shocking and dangerous event.

Scripps Research neuroscientist Courtney Miller found while certain medications treat the symptoms of PTSD, no treatment targeted the traumatic memories themselves. She set out to identify something unique to the storage of traumatic memories “to get at the heart of the problem.”

Miller found a key molecule that directs gene activity in brain cells is elevated in people with PTSD. Through experiments, she discovered suppressing that molecule in an area of the brain where long-term memories of fear reside enables greater resilience following trauma.

“Our goal is not to erase the memories but take the emotional component away from them,” she said.

About 10 percent of women and 4 percent of men will experience post-traumatic stress disorder at some point, putting them at risk for depression and drug addiction, according to the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs. An estimated 8 million people a year in the United States, including veterans, cope with the disorder that affects sleep, behavior and relationships.

Miller studied stress in mice and in Dutch military veterans who had served in Afghanistan conflict zones to better understand why only a subset of those who endure traumatic experiences develop PTSD. Now, her team at Scripps will try to figure out if gender plays a role, how much medication will reduce the elevated level of the molecule in the brain or microRNA, and possible side effects, she said. “What we do know is that as a concept, there is potential there.”

“PTSD is complex,” Miller said. “Memory is one of most complex processes our bodies are capable of. We want people to know there are scientists who recognize what currently availThe able is not enough … who care and are working on it.”

The concept of disrupting long-term emotional memories specific to PTSD is similar to one in which Miller previously had success. In prior work, she developed a drug that could disrupt long-term emotional memories of methamphetamine use to prevent relapse in drug addiction.

For Gregg Laskoski, communications director for K9 Partners for Patriots in Brooksville, a treatment for PTSD can’t come soon enough. Laskoski said PTSD sufferers are the least likely of anyone to ask for help. “That is one of the most difficult things and why the suicide rate is so high.”

This holiday weekend, Laskoski said veterans will be struggling as firework sounds bring flashbacks.

Laskoski said whether by leaning on a therapy dog, or some other form of treatment, anyone who using some coping mechanism for PTSD is better off.