Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting,
New Orleans, November 2003

Antibacterial eases phobia
TB drug plus virtual reality relieves fear of heights.
11 November 2003
HELEN R. PILCHER


Many patients drop out of behavioural therapy because it is unpleasant.
� alamy.com



A common antibacterial drug has helped phobics to overcome their fear of heights. Combined with standard behavioural therapy, D-cycloserine (DCS) speeded recovery fourfold compared with therapy alone.

An estimated 19 million Americans suffer from anxiety disorders, including phobias, post-traumatic stress disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder. "The same treatment may also help these people," says Michael Davis of Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, who helped to conduct the study.

Behavioural therapy - where sufferers are gradually exposed to their fear in an attempt to modify their response to it - can be expensive and time consuming. In the United States, four months of weekly sessions cost around $3,000. Hastening recovery lowers the cost of treatment, Davis told the Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana, this week.

"It's also likely to make people more compliant," says fear researcher Mark Barad of the University of California at Los Angeles. Around 40% of phobic patients drop out of therapy because they find it unpleasant.

Getting high

Davis's team treated 30 acrophobics - people with a severe fear of heights. Wearing specially designed goggles hooked up to a PC, the subjects rode a virtual glass elevator. After two sessions, patients reported a 10% decrease in anxiety levels. When the sessions were supplemented with DCS, their anxiety dropped 50%.

After three months back in the real world, drug-treated patients had had twice as many high-rise encounters as their therapy-only counterparts. They were more likely to drive over high bridges and take elevator rides, says Davis. Two sessions of DCS and virtual reality are equivalent to eight sessions of therapy alone, he claims.

It is also likely to make people more compliant
Mark Barad
University of California



The drug is more commonly used to treat tuberculosis. It boosts the activity of a receptor protein in the brain. Previous studies have shown that when the protein is blocked, rats are unable to overcome previously learned fears. DCS works within hours and seems to be free of side effects. Patients take one dose before each therapy session.

Next, the team will test the strategy on people who fear public speaking. "They'll be presented with DCS and a virtual audience," he says.

Probably a while off yet before it's available - but there is hope !!