Anna Gerst, BS; Tej Murthy, BS; Alisandrea Elson, MD; David Driscoll, PhD; Marvin J. Bittner, MD; Sriram Ramaswamy, MD
WMJ. 2021;120(4):321-324.
ABSTRACT
Introduction: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a chronic, debilitating anxiety disorder. While there is evidence that antibiotics such as minocycline may help to improve symptoms in some psychiatric disorders, no human studies have evaluated their potential as a treatment for PTSD.
Methods: We present results from 4 men aged 33 to 59 years who completed a 12-week pilot, prospective, nonrandomized, open-label clinical trial of adjunctive minocycline for veterans diagnosed with PTSD.
Results: All 4 patients showed reduction in PTSD symptoms at the end of the 12-week study, and 3 patients showed reduction in depression symptoms. Observed changes in inflammatory biomarkers are discussed.
Discussion: Previous studies have reported increased inflammation in PTSD, though evidence of a potential therapeutic effect of minocycline for PTSD has not been reported previously in humans.
Conclusion: These findings suggest that antibiotics like minocycline may help to reduce symptoms of PTSD, though further investigation is needed to confirm these findings.