Scared of heights? Take this pill

Scientists have discovered that giving people a tablet of the stress hormone cortisol can help reduce their phobia.

The hormone, which is part of the body’s “fight or flight” reaction to danger, appears to open the brain up to being reprogrammed and to permanently remove anxieties.

Tests on 40 patients with acrophobia – a fear of high places and edges – found those given cortisol in combination with behavioural therapy dramatically reduced their aversion.

The researchers said their findings, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, could lead to the development of effective treatments for a host of anxiety disorders.

Half the participants were given the drug and the others a placebo an hour before being subjected to a virtual-reality outdoor elevator ride.

Their fear was measured three to five days and one month after the last exposure session through an established acrophobia questionnaire and by sensors that picked up their sweat known as skin conductance examinations.

Compared with those given the dummy pill participants who took cortisol suffered significantly less anxiety and a smaller increase in skin conductance during follow-up.

The effect also lasted a lot longer and still apparent a month later.

Article Link:  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/8411753/Scared-of-heights-Take-this-pill.html