New Simple and Promising Treatment for Stubborn PTSD: Year-long Study

Study Details

Enrollment will soon be open for (year-long) patient participation.

NW Regen is excited to announce that our clinic will be participating in a multi-state, double-blind study and will begin enrolling patients this October. As part of the study, all out-of-pocket expenses will be covered. Contact our clinic to learn how to participate.

Study participants must:

• Meet the clinical criteria for PTSD.
• Have experienced PTSD symptoms for more than a year.
• Have already undergone previous, mostly unsuccessful treatments for PTSD, including, but not limited, to a min. of 2 types of medications AND 2 other methods of treatment.
• Commit to participating in the study over the course of one year.
• Live close enough to the clinic to attend appointments
  (5 appointments = initial intake + 2, 4, 8, and 13 weeks following initial intake)

About New PTSD Treatment

You’ve tried the medications. You’ve done the therapy. Maybe more than one round of each. And the symptoms are still there — the hypervigilance, the broken sleep, the fog that sits between you and your own life.

That experience is more common than most people realize. Psychotherapy and SSRIs are the first-line treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder, and for a significant number of people they simply don’t produce enough relief. NW Regen is one of four clinics across three states participating in a randomized study of a different approach, registered as Cervical Plexus Hydrodissection With D5W Versus NS for Treatment-Resistant PTSD.

Enrollment is expected to open in October, 2026.

What the Study Is Testing

The study is evaluating bilateral hydrodissection of the cervical plexus — a procedure in which a small volume of fluid is injected under ultrasound guidance on both sides of the cervical plexus, the network of nerves in the neck. The goal is to separate those nerves from the surrounding tissue and, researchers believe, influence the nearby sympathetic chain that governs the body’s threat response.

Participants are randomly assigned to receive one of two solutions:

• Dextrose 5% in water (D5W) — the solution under investigation
• Normal saline (NS) — a comparison injection using the same procedure

Both groups receive 10 mL bilaterally at weeks 0, 2, 4, and 8. The primary measure is change on the PTSD Checklist for Civilians (PCL-C), a standard symptom questionnaire, assessed in both the short and long term.

This design matters. Earlier work on this procedure compared treatment against a waiting period, which makes it difficult to separate the effect of the solution from the effect of the visit, the attention, and the expectation. Comparing D5W against an identical saline injection is a more demanding test — and it is the reason this study exists.

Why Researchers Are Looking at This Approach

A related procedure, the Stellate Ganglion Block (SGB), has performed favorably for PTSD. The difference is that SGB uses Ropivacaine, and while it often only requires 2 treatments, it carries additional rare but noteworthy risks, such as inadvertent intravascular injection or unintentional blocking of the laryngeal or phrenic nerve. An SGB should only be performed on one side at a time by a highly trained professional and in a clinic well equipped to manage these risks.

Cervical plexus hydrodissection with D5W uses no anesthetic at all. Researchers are interested in what that changes:

• No anesthetic toxicity risk and no nerve-block risk
• Both sides can be treated in the same session
• A small needle, in an outpatient office with ultrasound
• Investigators have observed a cumulative effect across repeated sessions

To be clear about where the evidence currently stands: the published record on this specific use is early. It includes a single detailed case report of one patient and observational findings from chronic pain practice. That is promising, and it is also exactly why a controlled trial is warranted rather than a conclusion.

Will I Receive the Dextrose Solution?

We want to be straightforward about this, because it’s the question that matters most to people considering enrollment.

Assignment is random. Roughly half of participants receive D5W during the treatment phase, and roughly half receive normal saline. You will not choose which, and you will not be told which during that phase — that’s what makes the results meaningful.

Note: participants in the saline group may request D5W treatment from week 13 through week 52. The comparison period is the first 13 weeks. After that, the option is open to everyone enrolled.

What Participation Involves

• A screening process to confirm eligibility
• Four in-person treatment visits, at weeks 0, 2, 4, and 8
• Symptom follow-up through the months that follow
• The option to request additional treatment between weeks 13 and 52

Who Can Take Part

The study is designed for adults with treatment-resistant PTSD. In general terms, participants must:

• Meet the clinical criteria for PTSD
• Have had symptoms for more than one year
• Have already tried at least two medications and at least two non-medication treatments without adequate relief
• Have reliable transportation to appointments, live withing one hour of Portland, OR and not planning to move for the next 18 mos.
• No diagnosis of schizophrenia, Borderline Personality Disorder, or Bipolar Disorder.
• Be able to commit to the full study timeline, including follow-up

There are additional inclusion and exclusion criteria — including daily narcotic use, heavy alcohol use, planned surgery, and enrollment in other PTSD studies. These are all reviewed individually during screening.

What It Costs

Out-of-pocket expenses related to study participation are covered for enrolled participants for up to a year.

Find Out Whether You’re a Candidate

If you’ve been living with PTSD for years and standard treatment hasn’t gotten you where you need to be, contact our clinic to speak with our team about screening for the study.

About This Study

This trial is registered on ClinicalTrials.gov as NCT07382596, “Cervical Plexus Hydrodissection With D5W Versus NS for Treatment-Resistant PTSD,” sponsored by the Dr. Dean Reeves Clinic, with Kenneth D. Reeves, M.D. as principal investigator. Participating sites are located in Oregon, Wisconsin, and Kentucky.

Cervical plexus hydrodissection with D5W for PTSD is investigational and used off-label for this purpose. Outcomes vary between individuals, and participation in a research study is never a guarantee of benefit. Nothing on this page is medical advice or a promise of results.

If you are in crisis or thinking about harming yourself, please call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline) or go to your nearest emergency department. A research study is not a substitute for urgent care.