PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome) is an acronym everyone is familiar with these days. As troops subjected to prolonged combat in multiple locations in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria and elsewhere show the world the grim reminders the toll it takes on the human psyche.
It isn’t anything new, just the name has changed. In World War I, it was known as “shell shock”. In World War II and later its name changed to “combat fatigue”. What hasn’t changed is that is a debilitating disease that affects between seven to eight percent of all adults at one point in the lives. Among the veterans of the recent conflicts in the past decade, those numbers are nearly doubled.
Now doctors at the University College of London and the University of Zurich are trying to break ground in treating PTSD by using a very common antibiotic, doxycycline.
One of the head researchers, Dr. Domenik Bach said “Learning to fear threats is an important ability … helping us to avoid dangers. (But) over-prediction of threat can cause tremendous suffering and distress in anxiety disorders such as PTSD.”
PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome) ni jina la kifupi ambalo kila mtu anafahamu siku hizi. Wanajeshi wa Marekani waliokabiliwa na mapigano ya muda mrefu katika maeneo mbalimbali nchini Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria na kwingineko wanaonyesha ulimwengu ukumbusho mbaya wa athari za vita hivyo kwa akili ya binadamu. Si jambo jipya, jina tu limebadilika. Katika Vita vya Kwanza vya Ulimwengu, ilijulikana kama "shok ya makombora". Katika Vita vya Pili vya Ulimwengu na baadaye jina lake lilibadilishwa kuwa "uchovu wa kupigana". Kile ambacho hakijabadilika ni kwamba ni ugonjwa wenye kudhoofisha ambao huathiri kati ya asilimia saba hadi nane ya watu wazima wote wakati fulani maishani. Kati ya maveterani wa mapigano ya hivi karibuni katika muongo uliopita, idadi hiyo imepanuka mara mbili. Wataalamu wa Chuo Kikuu cha London na Chuo Kikuu cha Zurich wamejaribu kugundua njia ya matibabu ya PTSD kwa kutumia dawa ya kuua viini inayoitwa doxycycline. Mmoja wa watafiti wakuu, Dakt. Domenik Bach alisema <unk>Kujifunza kuogopa vitisho ni uwezo muhimu... kutusaidia kuepuka hatari. "Kutarajia kwa kupita kiasi kwa tishio kunaweza kusababisha mateso makubwa na shida katika matatizo ya wasiwasi kama vile ""PTSD."""