A sympatholytic (sympathoplegic) drug is a medication that opposes the downstream effects of postganglionic nerve firing in effector organs innervated by the sympathetic nervous system (SNS).
Many antiadrenergic agents used as antihypertensives include: There is clear evidence from many controlled trials in the past 25 years that beta blockers are effective in anxiety disorders, though the mechanism of action is not known.
By administering beta blockers which can cross the blood brain barrier immediately following a traumatic event, as well as over the next couple weeks, the formation of PTSD has been reduced in clinical studies.
Alpha2-adrenergic receptor agonists, such as clonidine and guanfacine, act at noradrenergic autoreceptors to inhibit the firing of cells in the locus ceruleus, effectively reducing the release of brain norepinephrine.
[5] Clonidine has shown promise among patients with anxiety, panic and PTSD in clinical trials and was used to treat severely and chronically abused and neglected preschool children.
Kinzie and Leung prescribed the combination of clonidine and imipramine to severely traumatized Cambodian refugees with anxiety, panic and PTSD.
[9] Raskind and colleagues studied the efficacy of prazosin for PTSD among Vietnam combat veterans in a 20-week double-blind crossover protocol with a two-week drug washout to allow for return to baseline.
Prazosin appears to have promise as an effective treatment for PTSD-related sleep disturbance, including trauma-related nightmares, as well as overall anxiety and PTSD symptoms.