The Institute for Molecular Neuroscience, a new U.S. Army-funded research program intended to accelerate the discovery and development of new medications to treat alcohol and substance abuse in the context of post-traumatic stress and combat injury, has announced its first round of pilot grants.
Ismene Petrakis, MD, professor of psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine and chief of psychiatry at the VA Connecticut Healthcare System, will receive $449,719 from the program. Her funded project will evaluate whether the anticonvulsant zonisamide is effective in treating veterans who have PTSD and comorbid alcohol dependence when the medication is used in conjunction with Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT).
CPT is one of the evidence-based therapies that the VA utilizes to treat veterans with PTSD. However, veterans with alcohol dependence are often not referred for CPT until after they receive treatment for their alcohol use. This project will test whether these disorders can be treated concurrently, and whether an evidence-based psychotherapy can be combined with a novel treatment to treat alcohol dependence.
"These efforts will address a critical research gap surrounding alcohol use in service members returning from war," said Col. Carl Castro, director of the Army’s Military Operational Medicine Research Program. "Congratulations to the recipients, and we look forward to the results of their research efforts on behalf of our service members and their families."
Dr. Petrakis' research focuses on finding appropriate treatments, including medications, to treat individuals who have alcoholism and a psychiatric disorder. Her work centers on understanding the neurobiological mechanisms underlying alcohol dependence and the risk of developing alcoholism.
The Institute for Molecular Neuroscience is administered and managed by the UCSF-affiliated Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center.