D-Cycloserine for PTSD Proves Underwhelming

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MONTREAL -- The addition of D-cycloserine to cognitive-behavioral therapy for the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder showed little or no benefit over placebo, based on several studies presented at the meeting.

The presentations sparked some heated debate and dampened hopes for the drug in treating posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), given that it has already shown promise in the treatment of social anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and some phobias - and might have potential in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder and addictions.

"The early results are not as positive as we [had] hoped," commented Dr. Charles Marmar, professor and chair of the department of psychiatry at New York University, when asked to comment after the session. "We didn't see much evidence today that D-cycloserine boosts the therapeutic benefit of cognitive-behavioral therapy [CBT] in PTSD," agreed Dr. Roger Pitman, who serves as director of the Massachusetts General Hospital posttraumatic stress disorder and …