Painkillers, Plus

Could narcotic painkillers prevent post-traumatic stress disorder?

Research suggests just that: The more morphine given to children following accident or burn injuries, the fewer post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms they later experience.

Glenn Saxe, a professor of child psychiatry at Boston University, found that on an 80-point scale of post-traumatic stress, children given the largest doses of morphine dropped an average of 25 points over six months; those given the lowest doses fell only seven points. The kids who received no morphine at all had an increase in PTSD symptoms.

Rachel Yehuda, a PTSD expert and a professor of psychiatry at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, says, "We don't know yet whether the results are the effects of morphine [specifically]—maybe anything that reduces pain would help." But Saxe notes that research suggests that the undertreatment of pain—which is common because of fears about addiction to painkillers—could lead to greater rates of PTSD. Ironically, childhood PTSD is linked with increased risk for later substance abuse.