Murray Raskind, MD

Personal Statement

I and my team of collaborators investigate the CNS noradrenergic system and the alpha-1 adrenoreceptor (AR) specifically as potential therapeutic targets for treatment of behavioral disorders with hyperarousal as a major component of their clinical presentations. These disorders include PTSD, alcohol use disorder, agitation/aggression in dementia and (unexpectedly) post-mild traumatic brain injury migraine-like headaches.

1. PTSD: Based on our clinical observation and data from other laboratories suggesting increased CNS noradrenergic activity in PTSD, we (Drs. Peskind, Petrie, McFall and Army colleagues) demonstrated in three RCTs in combat veterans and active duty soldiers that the CNS active alpha-1 AR antagonist prazosin is effective for PTSD sleep disruption, trauma nightmares, daytime hyperarousal symptoms and global clinical status. Based on these studies, approximately 100,000 military veterans across the US were prescribed prazosin for PTSD in 2013.

2. Alcohol Use Disorder: Based (again) on clinical observation of alcoholic combat veterans achieving long-term abstinence with prazosin treatment, we have demonstrated (with Dr. Rasmussen) in rodent studies that prazosin reduces alcohol consumption in genetically “alcoholic” P rats, and this effect is greater when prazosin is combined with propranolol or naltrexone; and in two RCTs (Simpson, Saxon) that prazosin effectively reduces alcohol consumption in persons with alcohol dependence with or without comorbid PTSD.

3. Dementia Agitation/Aggression: Although locus ceruleus (LC) neurons are lost in Alzheimer’s disease (AD), we demonstrated normal or increased norepinephrine in CSF in AD (Peskind) and increased tyrosine hydroxylase mRNA/LC neuron in AD postmortem tissue and increased alpha-1 AR density in LC projection areas (Szot) in AD. In a pilot RCT (Peskind, Wang) prazosin was effective for agitation/aggression in AD outpatients and nursing home residents.

Department Affiliations

Recent Publications

CSF β-Amyloid and Tau Biomarker Changes in Veterans With Mild Traumatic Brain Injury.
(2024 Apr 9)
Neurology 102(7): e209197
Li G, Iliff J, Shofer J, Mayer CL, Meabon J, Cook D, Pagulayan KF, Raskind MA, Zetterberg H, Blennow K, Peskind ER

Perivascular Space Burden and Cerebrospinal Fluid Biomarkers in US Veterans With Blast-Related Mild Traumatic Brain Injury.
(2024 Jan 19)
J Neurotrauma
Yamamoto EA, Koike S, Luther M, Dennis L, Lim MM, Raskind M, Pagulayan K, Iliff J, Peskind E, Piantino JA

A case of prazosin in treatment of rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder.
(2024 Feb 1)
J Clin Sleep Med 20(2): 319-321
Cho Y, Iliff JJ, Lim MM, Raskind M, Peskind E

Multi-ancestry genome-wide meta-analysis of 56,241 individuals identifies LRRC4C, LHX5-AS1 and nominates ancestry-specific loci PTPRK , GRB14 , and KIAA0825 as novel risk loci for Alzheimer's disease: the Alzheimer's Disease Genetics Consortium.
(2023 Jul 8)
medRxiv
Rajabli F, Benchek P, Tosto G, Kushch N, Sha J, Bazemore K, Zhu C, Lee WP, Haut J, Hamilton-Nelson KL, Wheeler NR, Zhao Y, Farrell JJ, Grunin MA, Leung YY, Kuksa PP, Li D, Lucio da Fonseca E, Mez JB, Palmer EL, Pillai J, Sherva RM, Song YE, Zhang X, Iqbal T, Pathak O, Valladares O, Kuzma AB, Abner E, Adams PM, Aguirre A, Albert MS, Albin RL, Allen M, Alvarez L, Apostolova LG, Arnold SE, Asthana S, Atwood CS, Ayres G, Baldwin CT, Barber RC, Barnes LL, Barral S, Beach TG, Becker JT, Beecham GW, Beekly D, Benitez BA, Bennett D, Bertelson J, Bird TD, Blacker D, Boeve BF, Bowen JD, Boxer A, Brewer J, Burke JR, Burns JM, Buxbaum JD, Cairns NJ, Cantwell LB, Cao C, Carlson CS, Carlsson CM, Carney RM, Carrasquillo MM, Chasse S, Chesselet MF, Chin NA, Chui HC, Chung J, Craft S, Crane PK, Cribbs DH, Crocco EA, Cruchaga C, Cuccaro ML, Cullum M, Darby E, Davis B, De Jager PL, DeCarli C, DeToledo J, Dick M, Dickson DW, Dombroski BA, Doody RS, Duara R, Ertekin-Taner N, Evans DA, Faber KM, Fairchild TJ, Fallon KB, Fardo DW, Farlow MR, Fernandez-Hernandez V, Ferris S, Foroud TM, Frosch MP, Fulton-Howard B, Galasko DR, Gamboa A, Gearing M, Geschwind DH, Ghetti B, Gilbert JR, Goate AM, Grabowski TJ, Graff-Radford NR, Green RC, Growdon JH, Hakonarson H, Hall J, Hamilton RL, Harari O, Hardy J, Harrell LE, Head E, Henderson VW, Hernandez M, Hohman T, Honig LS, Huebinger RM, Huentelman MJ, Hulette CM, Hyman BT, Hynan LS, Ibanez L, Jarvik GP, Jayadev S, Jin LW, Johnson K, Johnson L, Kamboh MI, Karydas AM, Katz MJ, Kauwe JS, Kaye JA, Keene CD, Khaleeq A, Kim R, Knebl J, Kowall NW, Kramer JH, Kukull WA, LaFerla FM, Lah JJ, Larson EB, Lerner A, Leverenz JB, Levey AI, Lieberman AP, Lipton RB, Logue M, Lopez OL, Lunetta KL, Lyketsos CG, Mains D, Margaret FE, Marson DC, Martin ERR, Martiniuk F, Mash DC, Masliah E, Massman P, Masurkar A, McCormick WC, McCurry SM, McDavid AN, McDonough S, McKee AC, Mesulam M, Miller BL, Miller CA, Miller JW, Montine TJ, Monuki ES, Morris JC, Mukherjee S, Myers AJ, Nguyen T, O'Bryant S, Olichney JM, Ory M, Palmer R, Parisi JE, Paulson HL, Pavlik V, Paydarfar D, Perez V, Peskind E, Petersen RC, Pierce A, Polk M, Poon WW, Potter H, Qu L, Quiceno M, Quinn JF, Raj A, Raskind M, Reiman EM, Reisberg B, Reisch JS, Ringman JM, Roberson ED, Rodriguear M, Rogaeva E, Rosen HJ, Rosenberg RN, Royall DR, Sager MA, Sano M, Saykin AJ, Schneider JA, Schneider LS, Seeley WW, Slifer SH, Small S, Smith AG, Smith JP, Sonnen JA, Spina S, St George-Hyslop P, Stern RA, Stevens AB, Strittmatter SM, Sultzer D, Swerdlow RH, Tanzi RE, Tilson JL, Trojanowski JQ, Troncoso JC, Tsuang DW, Van Deerlin VM, van Eldik LJ, Vance JM, Vardarajan BN, Vassar R, Vinters HV, Vonsattel JP, Weintraub S, Welsh-Bohmer KA, Whitehead PL, Wijsman EM, Wilhelmsen KC, Williams B, Williamson J, Wilms H, Wingo TS, Wisniewski T, Woltjer RL, Woon M, Wright CB, Wu CK, Younkin SG, Yu CE, Yu L, Zhu X, Kunkle BW, Bush WS, Wang LS, Farrer LA, Haines JL, Mayeux R, Pericak-Vance MA, Schellenberg GD, Jun GR, Reitz C, Naj AC

Randomized controlled pilot trial of prazosin for prophylaxis of posttraumatic headaches in active-duty service members and veterans.
(2023 Jun)
Headache 63(6): 751-762
Mayer CL, Savage PJ, Engle CK, Groh SS, Shofer JB, Hargrove AM, Williams TJ, Poupore EL, Hart KL, Riechers RG 2nd, Ruff RL, Peskind ER, Raskind MA

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