(Press-News.org) Abuse during childhood is different.
A study of adult civilians with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) has shown that individuals with a history of childhood abuse have distinct, profound changes in gene activity patterns, compared to adults with PTSD but without a history of child abuse.
A team of researchers from Atlanta and Munich probed blood samples from 169 participants in the Grady Trauma Project, a study of more than 5000 Atlanta residents with high levels of exposure to violence, physical and sexual abuse and with high risk for civilian PTSD.
The results were published this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Early Edition.
"These are some of the most robust findings to date showing that different biological pathways may describe different subtypes of a psychiatric disorder, which appear similar at the level of symptoms but may be very different at the level of underlying biology," says Kerry Ressler, MD, PhD, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Emory University School of Medicine and Yerkes National Primate Research Center.
"As these pathways become better understood, we expect that distinctly different biological treatments would be implicated for therapy and recovery from PTSD based on the presence or absence of past child abuse."
The first author of the paper is Divya Mehta, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow in Munich. The senior author is Elisabeth Binder, MD, PhD, associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Emory and group leader at the Max-Planck Institute of Psychiatry in Munich, Germany.
Ressler, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, is co-director of the Grady Trauma Project, along with co-author Bekh Bradley, PhD, assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Emory and director of the Trauma Recovery Program at the Atlanta Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
Mehta and her colleagues examined changes in the patterns of which genes were turned on and off in blood cells from patients. They also looked at patterns of methylation, a DNA modification on top of the four letters of the genetic code that causes genes to be 'silenced' or made inactive.
Study participants were divided into three groups: people who experienced trauma without developing PTSD, people with PTSD who were exposed to child abuse, and people with PTSD who were not exposed to child abuse.
The researchers were surprised to find that although hundreds of genes had significant changes in activity in the PTSD with and without child abuse groups, there was very little overlap in patterns between these groups. The two groups shared similar symptoms of PTSD, which include intrusive thoughts such as nightmares and flashbacks, avoidance of trauma reminders, and symptoms of hyperarousal and hypervigilance.
The PTSD with child abuse group displayed more changes in genes linked with development of the nervous system and regulation of the immune system, while the PTSD minus child abuse group displayed more changes in genes linked with apoptosis (cell death) and growth rate regulation. In addition, changes in methylation were more frequent in the PTSD with child abuse group. The authors believe that these biological pathways may lead to different mechanisms of PTSD symptom formation within the brain.
The Max Planck/Emory scientists were probing gene activity in blood cells, rather than brain tissue. Similar results have been obtained by researchers studying the influence of child abuse on the brains of people who had committed suicide.
"Traumatic events that happen in childhood are embedded in the cells for a long time," Binder says. "Not only the disease itself, but the individual's life experience is important in the biology of PTSD, and this should be reflected in the way we treat these disorders."
INFORMATION:
This work was supported by the Max-Planck Society, the Behrens-Weise Foundation, the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health (MH071537 and MH085806) and the Burroughs Wellcome Fund.
Reference: D. Mehta et al. Childhood maltreatment is associated with distinct genomics and epigenetic profiles in postraumatic stress disorder. PNAS Early Edition (2013).
END
Scientists at Princeton University used off-the-shelf printing tools to create a functional ear that can "hear" radio frequencies far beyond the range of normal human capability.
The researchers' primary purpose was to explore an efficient and versatile means to merge electronics with tissue. The scientists used 3D printing of cells and nanoparticles followed by cell culture to combine a small coil antenna with cartilage, creating what they term a bionic ear.
"In general, there are mechanical and thermal challenges with interfacing electronic materials with biological ...
(Boston) – A Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) study shows a mind-body class elective for medical students helps increase their self-compassion and ability to manage thoughts and tasks more effectively. The study, published in Medical Education Online, also discusses how this innovative course may help medical students better manage stress and feel more empowered to use mind-body skills with their patients.
Allison Bond, MA, a third-year medical student at BUSM, served as the paper's first author. The course was designed and taught by co-author Heather Mason, ...
In an effort to determine if conditions were ever right on Mars to sustain life, a team of scientists, including a Michigan State University professor, has examined a meteorite that formed on the red planet more than a billion years ago.
And although this team's work is not specifically solving the mystery, it is laying the groundwork for future researchers to answer this age-old question.
The problem, said MSU geological sciences professor Michael Velbel, is that most meteorites that originated on Mars arrived on Earth so long ago that now they have characteristics ...
NEW YORK, MAY 1, 2013 – Endometrial tumors can be reclassified into distinct subtypes based partly on their genomic makeup and may respond to targeted drugs already being tested in clinical trials, according to a large-scale genomic analysis led by researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and other centers within The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) Research Network.
Published in the May 2 issue of the journal Nature, the findings may help doctors more accurately diagnose endometrial cancer and choose treatments that will target genomic mutations in women with ...
In recent years, healthy people have been bombarded by stories in the media and on health websites warning about the dangers of too-low vitamin D levels, and urging high doses of supplements to protect against everything from hypertension to hardening of the arteries to diabetes.
But new research from Johns Hopkins finds that blood levels of the so-called "sunshine vitamin" higher than the top of the range suggested by the Institute of Medicine confer no additional benefit. This finding, combined with results of a previous study by the same group noting potential harm ...
Berkeley — A new analysis of the contents of lipstick and lip gloss may cause you to pause before puckering.
Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley's School of Public Health tested 32 different lipsticks and lip glosses commonly found in drugstores and department stores. They detected lead, cadmium, chromium, aluminum and five other metals, some of which were found at levels that could raise potential health concerns. Their findings will be published online Thursday, May 2, in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.
Prior studies also have found ...
The LAP-BAND® weight loss procedure is safe and effective in an expanded group of patients, not just in people who are morbidly obese. This conclusion is reported in a new study published in the scientific journal Obesity. The findings indicate that the procedure may help to intervene before obesity becomes life threatening to patients.
In 2001 the LAP-BAND® adjustable gastric banding system (LAGB) was approved by the FDA as weight loss procedure for patients with a body mass index (BMI) of 40 kg/m2 or higher and for patients with a BMI of at least 35 with an obesity-related ...
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, ILL. (May 2, 2013) – Many of today's school teachers opt for dustless chalk to keep hands and classrooms clean. But according to a study published in the May issue of Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, the scientific journal of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI), this choice in chalk may cause allergy and asthma symptoms in students that have a milk allergy.
Casein, a milk protein, is often used in low-powder chalk. When milk allergic children inhale chalk particles containing casein, life-threatening asthma attacks ...
Third time's the charm for California's Three Feet for Safety Act?
Article provided by Hanasab & Zolekhian, LLP
Visit us at http://www.hzpersonalinjury.com
As Californians increasingly bike to work or hop on a bicycle for exercise, drivers and bicyclists must learn to share the road safely. Part of safe driving includes making sure the bicyclist has enough room to ride and is not in danger of being clipped by a passing car or running into trouble along curbs, gutters or parked vehicles. After being vetoed twice in previous years, legislation has been proposed ...
New federal agency standards to limit behind-the-wheel distractions
Article provided by Lynch, Traub, Keefe & Errante, P.C.
Visit us at http://www.ltke.com
Connecticut recently passed one of the broadest cellphone bans in the country. But according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration cellphones and other in-vehicle technology continue to cause driver distractions and Connecticut car accidents. The federal agency recently released new voluntary guidelines for automakers related to in-vehicle technology.
The new guidelines discourage automakers ...
