Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a common illness among war veterans and many other high-stress jobs. PTSD can also occur following any frightening event in a person's life. There are many treatment facilities and programs for people experiencing PTSD, and also many other forms of treatment. A common treatment is a medicine called Propranolol. Propranolol is used to treat heart problems and anxiety, and is now used to treat PTSD. The drug blocks adrenaline, which is the hormone that causes people to be frightened and shocked. The BMJ Best Treatments reported that this drug can consolidate emotional memory and weaken emotions attached to memories. This is where all the ethical issues come into play.
On one side, people struggling from PTSD may be in need of this drug because they can't live with an experience they've had. Forgetting some emotions may be better than living with memories that they can't get over. On the other hand, the drug can cause users to lose emotions, and lose touch of who they really are. Family members have become very worried about this drug, because it may completely change the user of the drug.
The following article expresses some of the strengths of using Propranolol in PTSD patients. It is based on a couple of studies. http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/729444
This article discusses the other side of the story. http://bioethics.net/journal/j_articles.php?aid=1338. If you scroll down to the Basic Ethical Issues section of the article, you can find some solid arguments against the use of Propranolol.
Although the issue of Propranolol in PTSD is fairly uncommon, I found it very interesting. In my mind, it is up to the patient dealing with the anxiety and stress to ultimately decide if they should receive the drug or not. They know how bad the situation is, and should be the ones making their own decisions.
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