(SAN ANTONIO, TX) —  Researchers report that treatment for combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can be both quick and effective for the hundreds of thousands of U.S. military personnel and veterans facing the diagnosis.   Their study showed clinically significant reductions in PTSD symptoms in more than 60 percent of patients and long-term remission of diagnosis in more than 50 percent after three weeks of outpatient “Prolonged Exposure” therapy.

The landmark study was done in Texas and finds that combat-related PTSD can be cured.

The research team, led by Alan Peterson, PhD, of The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UT Health San Antonio), conducted the randomized clinical trial with 234 military personnel and veterans recruited from four locations in South and Central Texas. The effort was part of the work of the Consortium to Alleviate PTSD (CAP), a national network jointly funded by the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

The research showed that stead of therapy once a week over a series of months, veterans who devoted time to an intense three-week format led to more than half of participants completely losing their PTSD diagnosis.