New biomarker for PTSD identified

Scientists in the US have identified a biomarker that could be used to identify people who could be at risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

A team from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have determined that blood expression levels of genes targeted by the stress hormones called glucocorticoids could be used as a physical measure of PTSD risk.

In a test with rats, vulnerable animals exposed to the smell of cat urine – a predatory scent – tended to exhibit higher anxiety and hyperarousal, with altered glucocorticoid receptor signaling in all tissues compared with resilient rats.

Dr Nikolaos Daskalakis, associate research scientist in the department of psychiatry at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, said: "PTSD is not just a disorder that affects the brain. It involves the entire body, which is why identifying common regulators is key. The glucocorticoid receptor is the one common regulator that consistently stood out."

PTSD is estimated to affect about one in every three people who have a traumatic experience. Since not every individual who experiences trauma develops PTSD, new methods of better measuring each person's vulnerability to the disorder is a useful area for research.