Researchers Find PTSD May Be Preventable

Drug used on mice halt symptoms

Experts estimate that up to 20% of U.S. troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, a condition that can be stubbornly difficult to treat.

But what if PTSD could have been prevented in the first place?

Scientists have done something similar in traumatized mice. Days after a harrowing experience being restrained on wooden boards, they were given a drug that triggers a brain receptor thought to be involved in how mice — and people — respond to fear.