Lead Sponsor

University of California, San Diego

Age

18 - 65 years

Sex

MALE

Healthy Volunteers

No

•Male military veterans
•Between the ages of 18-65 years old
•Generally good medical health with no clinically significant abnormalities on physical examination, electrocardiogram, or laboratory findings
•Ability to provide informed consent and comply with requirements of study protocol
•No specific contraindications to hydrocortisone
•Clinically predominant DSM-IV diagnosis of PTSD
•Score of ≥ 40 on Clinician Administered PTSD Scale \[CAPS\]

•History of moderate to severe traumatic brain injury, seizure or organic mental illness
•Lifetime history of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, other psychotic disorder, or depression with a score of ≥ 16 on the 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (Hamilton, 1960), active suicidal ideation
•Unstable medical illness
•Subjects undergoing any formal psychotherapy within 3 months of enrollment
•Subjects that meet criteria for substance dependence during the last 6 months
•History of adverse reaction to corticosteroids.
•Concurrent use of other psychotropic medication (e.g. benzodiazepines, antipsychotics)