Police officers are set to benefit from a new post-traumatic stress disorder study by Tonix Pharmaceuticals.
The study is set to commence next year at Moi University School of Medicine in Eldoret.
“The paradox that confounds modern PTSD studies is that the placebo response has increased over time, even as we and others have striven to improve study methods and data quality,” Tonix Pharmaceuticals CEO Seth Lederman, who has outlined the new statistical method to analyse PTSD drug studies, said.
Lederman said in many studies, the placebo response has increased to levels it is difficult to be treated in a randomized placebo-controlled PTSD clinical trial.
Placebo is medicine or procedure prescribed for the psychological benefit to the patient rather than for any physiological effect.
“PTSD knows no borders. We are impressed with the clinical trial capabilities at Moi University and several other sites in Kenya. We look forward to working with Prof Lukoye Atwoli and other experts to perform this study on PTSD in Kenyan police,” he said.
The announcement was made during the third Annual Neuropsychiatric Drug
“We in Kenya are very excited to be setting up plans for a clinical trial to evaluate a treatment for PTSD in our region. This kind of research is not common in our part of the world,” Prof Lukoye Atwoli, Dean, Aga Khan University Medical College, said.
“We believe there are opportunities to improve care in our population, but also to bolster the ability of our young researchers to carry out that kind of work. We are grateful to Tonix Pharmaceuticals for supporting us and look forward to a long-term collaboration,” he added.
Early this year, the National Police Service embarked on an ambitious programme to sensitise its officers on trauma healing and psychological wellbeing as they fulfill their mandate of providing safety and security in the country.
Police officers are also often in touch with extremely painful issues in the community.
They are expected to deal with child abuse, domestic violence and rape all of which cause deep anguish to those involved.
Equally, they are the ones called out to scenes of murder and serious assault. Being witnesses to these horrific circumstances is could be stressful and can at times lead to depression and disillusionment.
According to the World Health Organization, one in four people in the world will be affected by mental disorders at some point in their lives.
In addition, around 450 million people currently suffer from such conditions placing mental disorders among the leading causes of ill-health and disability worldwide.