Public Speaking

The term PTSD should be referred to as PTSI (Post Traumatic Stress Injury). Advanced neuro-imaging (fMRI) can now detect observable change in the human brain caused by severe psychological trauma. Likewise, it can also be deetected in animals —  the term, “Veterinary PTSD” (vs. PTSD).

In 2006, Dr. Lipov became first physician to treat a patient suffering from PTSD/PTSI with an injection of an anesthetic to the stellate ganglion, a cluster of nerves in the neck. The procedure, Stellate Ganglion Block (SGB), and its more advanced version, Dual Sympathetic Reset (DSR), resets the body’s “fight or flight” response. With 80-85% efficacy rate, it has produced rapid, long lasting reduction — or elimination of — post-traumatic stress symptoms.

Epigenetics is the study of how our behaviors and environment can cause changes that affect the way our genes work. With a degree in molecular genetics, Dr. Lipov currently serves as a principal investigator in a clinical study that aims to evaluate epigenetic changes that can occur due to military trauma in Special Forces soldiers, and posits that changes can be reversed by effective treatment. As a precusor to the the study, Dr. Lipov recently authored a paper about the use of stellate ganglion block (SGB) to reverse changes in DNA that occur due to trauma. The paper has, since, been published in peer-reviewed medical journals.

Trauma can leave a chemical mark on a person’s genes, which can then be passed down through generations. This mark doesn’t cause a genetic mutation, but it does alter the mechanism by which the gene is expressed. This alteration is not genetic, but “epigenetic.”

Yes, it is possible to suffer from — and be diagnosed with — post-traumatic stress (PTSI) due to exposure from a loved one who suffers from (primary) post-traumatic stress.

Dr. Lipov’s pioneering use of stellate ganglion block began roughly 20 years ago when he treated a menopausal breast cancer survivor who was experiencing severe hot flashes. His patient was prevented from using hormone therapy, typically used to mitigate hot flashes in menopausal women, because of  the cancer treatment she was receiving. His research research on the application of the SGB protocol was subsequently published in Lancet Oncology, and has now been replicated by a number of institutions.

The success he achieved treating hot flashes bolstered his beliefs that SGB would be useful in treating post-traumatic stress, given that both conditions’ manifest themselves, symptomatically, via the sympathetic nervous system.

Women with a history of breast cancer cannot take estrogen, an effective treatment for hot flashes. The stellate ganglion block procedure can reduce them markedly. Women with breast cancer have to take estrogen blocking agent that needs to be taken for five years to reduce rate of cancer recurrence by 35%. Yet 50% of women stop taking this drug in six months.

Long COVID syndrome has been treated using stellate ganglion block (SGB). Dr. Lipov can discuss how and why it’s been successful in treating the many symptoms. Additional stellate ganglion blocks can change the immune system.

Statistics show that 1 in 10 women are sexually assaulted in college. Therefore, it is critical to better understand the connection between mental and physical trauma, after such a horrific experience takes place — as well as possible, effective treatment options.