A pill to beat fear?
Posted in Science and Biology by Khaled on March 31st, 2006
Well this could be great news for some of you, it seems that hormones treatment could help people to overcome their worst fears and phobias.
So you fear spiders? roches? high places? you are claustrophobic? well this is good news for you. Medical swiss researchers have come up with a new therapy to ease your phobia symptoms. This is not for today but in a near future you will be able to defeat your fears with a small pill! Yes just one pill! Even better, researchers think that it may have permanent effects.
The cure contains a human hormone called cortisol, and that is produced naturally by the organism to subdue the panic responses in times of phobia, anxiety, stress or fear.
The research team leader, Dr. Dominique de Quervain -University of Zurich, Switzerland-, says: “This will never be a daily pill. But it could be used in combination with behavioural therapy.” Cortisol, which has a variety of effects on our body, is already used as a remedy for several chronic conditions. Side effects of daily use include changes in blood pressure and metabolism, and the risk of diabetes. On a long-term basis it could also affect Memory.
So you fear spiders? roches? high places? you are claustrophobic? well this is good news for you. Medical swiss researchers have come up with a new therapy to ease your phobia symptoms. This is not for today but in a near future you will be able to defeat your fears with a small pill! Yes just one pill! Even better, researchers think that it may have permanent effects.
The cure contains a human hormone called cortisol, and that is produced naturally by the organism to subdue the panic responses in times of phobia, anxiety, stress or fear.
The research team leader, Dr. Dominique de Quervain -University of Zurich, Switzerland-, says: “This will never be a daily pill. But it could be used in combination with behavioural therapy.” Cortisol, which has a variety of effects on our body, is already used as a remedy for several chronic conditions. Side effects of daily use include changes in blood pressure and metabolism, and the risk of diabetes. On a long-term basis it could also affect Memory.
Colin says:
A nice idea that seems like it could eventually be used to help people with anxiety disorders, such as Obsessive-Compulsive disorder.
The side effects, though, seem like they could be a bit of a disastor for some of that group, however. Many people with OCD (and other co-morbid disorders) are very sensetive to medications, and already have poor memory. Definitely not a daily pill.
April 1st, 2006 at 12:28 am
Master says:
Yeah, I totally agree! Also some people become easily addicted to drugs, this kind of drug could be dangerous in these cases!
April 1st, 2006 at 5:47 pm