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Ways to enhance response to exposure therapy for anxiety disorders have received research attention — e.g., the use of D-cycloserine, a partial agonist of the N-methyl-d-aspartate glycine receptor (JW Psychiatry Jan 14 2008 and Neuropsychopharmacology 2008; 33:2108). Building on their previous work on adjunctive cortisol in phobias and post-traumatic stress disorder (Eur J Pharmacol 2008; 583:365), researchers tested the effect of cortisol on exposure for height phobia in 40 patients (mean age, 41; 22 men).
Patients were divided into two subgroups, with one receiving 20 mg cortisol and the other receiving placebo, 1 hour before each treatment. The treatment, given on 3 days in 1 week, consisted of exposure to elevators and bridges in a virtu…