scholarly journals Newer insights into the role of miRNA a tiny genetic tool in psychiatric disorders: focus on post-traumatic stress disorder

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (11) ◽  
pp. e954-e954 ◽  
Author(s):  
V V Giridharan ◽  
R A Thandavarayan ◽  
G R Fries ◽  
C Walss-Bass ◽  
T Barichello ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Psychiatric Disorders ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder ◽  
Traumatic Stress ◽  
Stress Disorder ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
Genetic Tool ◽  
Post Traumatic

scholarly journals Genes and hormones of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis in post-traumatic stress disorder. What is their role in symptom expression and treatment response?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susanne Fischer ◽  
Tabea Schumacher ◽  
Christine Knaevelsrud ◽  
Ulrike Ehlert ◽  
Sarah Schumacher
Keyword(s):  
Hpa Axis ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder ◽  
Traumatic Stress ◽  
Stress Disorder ◽  
Ptsd Symptoms ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
Alternative Treatments ◽  
Hypothalamic Pituitary Adrenal ◽  
Post Traumatic

Abstract Background Less than half of all individuals with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) remit spontaneously and a large proportion of those seeking treatment do not respond sufficiently. This suggests that there may be subgroups of individuals who are in need of augmentative or alternative treatments. One of the most frequent pathophysiological findings in PTSD is alterations in the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis, including enhanced negative feedback sensitivity and attenuated peripheral cortisol. Given the role of the HPA axis in cognition, this pattern may contribute to PTSD symptoms and interfere with key processes of standard first-line treatments, such as trauma-focused cognitive behavioural therapy (TF-CBT). Methods This review provides a comprehensive summary of the current state of research regarding the role of HPA axis functioning in PTSD symptoms and treatment. Results Overall, there is preliminary evidence that hypocortisolaemia contributes to symptom manifestation in PTSD; that it predicts non-responses to TF-CBT; and that it is subject to change in parallel with positive treatment trajectories. Moreover, there is evidence that genetic and epigenetic alterations within the genes NR3C1 and FKBP5 are associated with this hypocortisolaemic pattern and that some of these alterations change as symptoms improve over the course of treatment. Conclusions Future research priorities include investigations into the role of the HPA axis in day-to-day symptom variation, the time scale in which biological changes in response to treatment occur, and the effects of sex. Furthermore, before conceiving augmentative or alternative treatments that target the described mechanisms, multilevel studies are warranted.

Hormonal Contraception and the Brain: Examining Cognition and Psychiatric Disorders

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 116-131
Author(s):  
Stephanie Laird ◽  
Luke J. Ney ◽  
Kim L. Felmingham ◽  
Andrea Gogos
Keyword(s):  
Bipolar Disorder ◽  
Anxiety Disorders ◽  
Psychiatric Disorders ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder ◽  
Traumatic Stress ◽  
Stress Disorder ◽  
Oral Contraceptive Pill ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
Post Traumatic ◽  
The Brain

Background: The combined oral contraceptive pill (OC), containing synthetic estrogens and progestins, is used by millions of women worldwide, yet little is known about its effects on cognition or on psychiatric disorders. The progestin component of OCs determines their androgenicity, i.e. whether the OC has androgen binding components with masculinising effects or antiandrogenic components with feminising effects. Objective: The present review discusses the literature surrounding OC use and cognition in healthy women. Given the important role that sex hormones play in psychiatric disorders, we also consider the influence of OCs on symptoms of schizophrenia, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders and indirectly, sleep quality. Results: Research has shown that while there are no differences between OC users and non-users, androgenic OCs enhance visuospatial ability and anti-androgenic OCs enhance verbal fluency. Little is known about OCs effects on other cognitive domains, such as memory and executive function. There is little research examining OC use in schizophrenia, post-traumatic stress disorder, bipolar disorder and anxiety disorders. There is some evidence that OC use is associated with depression, however the exact causality of this association remains to be verified. Conclusion: We maintain that future studies need to address several methodological limitations, such as separating OCs based on androgenicity to avoid the masking effects that occur when various OCs are considered as one group. As this review highlights several significant effects of OC use on the brain, the implications of OC use needs to be considered in future research.

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