Blocking a molecule in the brain may "cure" post-traumatic stress disorder, according to US researchers.
They showed that inhibiting a specific enzyme removed fear in mice and report to journal Nature Neuroscience that the finding may lead to new treatments.

Around a third of people may suffer PTSD after an exceptionally traumatic event, such as a terrorist attack or a natural disaster.

Experts said it was early days but the findings were worth exploring further.

There is currently no treatment for PTSD although antidepressants and sleeping pills can help with the symptoms, which include flashbacks, anger, anxiety and depression.

Professor Li-Huei Tsai and colleagues in the Brain and Cognitive Sciences Department at MIT looked at the effects of an enzyme called Cdk5 in the brains of genetically engineered mice which had been given mild foot shocks.

When re-exposed to the same environment but without the shocks, mice in whom the researchers had increased levels of Cdk5 activity had difficulty letting go - or extinguishing - the memory of the foot shock and continued to freeze in fear.

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SOURCE: BBC News Online