TNO, Kindt Clinics and SENSIKS established a new partnership for the implementation of a short-term treatment strategy for traumatised healthcare workers during COVID-19 - Funded by Health~Holland
Health~Holland contributes to various calls in the Dutch Life Sciences & Health sector, as well as crossover calls with other sectors. Furthermore, Health~Holland is leading in the execution of the TKI regulations for the LSH field.
A new treatment for traumatised healthcare workers
Reconsolidation: a new intervention for traumatised healthcare workers
COVID-19 is taking a huge toll among healthcare workers worldwide: researchers are warning that the coronavirus pandemic could inflict posttraumatic stress disorder on an unprecedented global scale. Here, we aim to implement a novel treatment strategy – that yields long-term cure within a single treatment-session – for traumatized healthcare workers during COVID-19.
TNO, Kindt Clinics and SENSIKS established a new partnership for the implementation of a short-term treatment strategy for traumatised healthcare workers during COVID-19.
More than ever, healthcare professionals are facing unprecedented stressors. Researchers are warning that the coronavirus pandemic could inflict posttraumatic stress disorder in frontline healthcare workers on a global scale. Even though some effective strategies for the treatment of PTSD exist, memory for traumatic experiences is strong and resistant to change. As a result, a substantial proportion of patients experience a relapse even after initial treatment success. Partial or full reappearance of fear may be explained by intact memories that resurface. Once a fear memory has been established, it is held to be forever.
Yet there is reason for optimism: recent years have witnessed rapidly emerging evidence for the plasticity of fear memories. Upon retrieval a memory may be rendered labile and vulnerable to the disruptive effects of amnestic agents: this process is referred to as “disrupting reconsolidation” and may point to a novel therapeutic strategy for the permanent reduction of fear in patients suffering from anxiety disorders and PTSD. Abundant evidence now indicates that fear memories are susceptible to disruption by β-adrenergic blockade during reconsolidation. Both human studies and clinical practice indeed show that the administration of the β-adrenergic receptor antagonist propranolol upon retrieval decreases conditioned fear among healthy individuals, pathological fear in phobic patients, and even posttraumatic stress symptoms in trauma victims.
Here the aim is to adapt and implement this novel treatment strategy – that yields long-term cure within a single treatment-session – for traumatised healthcare professionals during COVID-19.
Dr. Merel Kindt, Professor at the University of Amsterdam. Her research is concerned with the understanding of neurobiological and psychological processes of fear and anxiety and the mechanisms of change in the treatment of anxiety and related disorders. In cooperation with other scientists, she developed a new treatment method that quickly and effectively treats phobias and posttraumatic stress disorder. 80% of patients overcome their fear after just one treatment-session. Given the wide-ranging clinical implications, the treatment strategy has generated substantial (inter)national media attention see https://kindtclinics.com/in-de-media/ for more information.
Dr. Marieke Soeter currently works for TNO as a research scientist, with an expertise in clinical psychology and neuroscience. Her research is concerned with i. the plasticity of memory, and ii. the development of new treatment strategies. Collaborating with Prof. dr. Merel Kindt, she was the first to show fear memory “erasure” in humans through targeting the process of reconsolidation. Starting with fundamental research using the fear-conditioning paradigm, the laboratory findings are now demonstrated in clinical populations. Hence, years of translational research are progressing into reconsolidation-based interventions for anxiety and related disorders.
Top Sector Life Sciences & Health: for vital citizens in a healthy economy
The Dutch Life Sciences & Health (LSH) sector is one of nine “top sectors” in the Netherlands. The top sectors are designated by the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy and are selected on their ability to contribute substantially to global societal challenges. Health~Holland is the Top Sector LSH's communication channel.
Top Sector LSH entails a broad scope of disciplines, from pharmaceuticals to medtech, from healthcare infrastructure to vaccination. In order to realise its mission – vital functioning citizens in a healthy economy - the Top Sector builds on the strengths of the Dutch LSH sector to address the biggest societal challenges in prevention, cure and care: improving the quality of life (vitality) while restraining the costs of healthcare.
Top Sector LSH initiates and stimulates multidisciplinary public-private partnerships (PPPs) to valorise innovation. By attracting financial means, sharing best practices and the univocal Health~Holland sector communication, the Top Sector boosts a productive infrastructure.
Source: https://www.health-holland.com/project/2020/a-new-treatment-for-traumatised-healthcare-workers
