In yet another example of how the Department of Veteran Affairs (“VA”) and DoD try to reinvent the wheel in search of a miracle drug to treat PTSD, Fox News reports that “TNX-102 SL, which contains the same chemical property as Flexeril” may soon be used in treating Veterans with PTSD:

An already-approved muscle relaxant may offer relief for U.S. military veterans and first responders suffering from combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The Phase 2 trials of the drug, TNX-102 SL, which contains the same chemical property as Flexeril, identified a dose and administration method that statistically improved participants’ PTSD symptoms among several mental health indices.

The findings were announced this month at the American Society of Clinical Psychopharmacology Annual Meeting (ASCP), and could eventually lead doctors to unroll the first PTSD drug in more than a decade, said Dr. Harry Croft, Chief of CNS Studies at Clinical Trials of Texas. Croft, who has also headed the investigation of 60 similar clinical trials over the last 25 years, said current PTSD treatments either don’t address every individual’s range of PTSD symptoms, pose unwanted side effects, or have poor adherence rates. Thus, scientists have continued searching for new PTSD treatments.

According to the article, “no new PTSD drug has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) since Paxil in 2001, and before that, Zoloft in 1999.”

While the VA has been dismissive of other proven old-fashioned therapy programs such as Hyperbaric Oxygen (“HBOT”), it appears that the VA has an unlimited research budget for new experimental drugs.  The pharmaceutical companies must be thrilled.

For many, especially Veterans seeking to reclaim their lives, it is difficult to fathom the “logic” of the folks at the VA, but it is hard to argue with a program administrator who places his or her interest ahead of the Veterans they should be serving.  It is difficult – read impossible – to have a discussion with someone who has all the answers.  Particularly so, if they are the wrong answers.

At a time when Congress is trying to determine whether the monolithic VA is the best way to provide help to Veterans,  it would appear that VA bureaucrats will continue to determine what drugs or therapy works best for Veterans.

In effect, Veterans – particularly those suffering from PTSD and/or TBI – will be denied access to alternative therapies in the private sector because the VA gatekeepers “know best.”

How many more Veteran suicides and disrupted lives do we need to say that this may not be the right approach?