The effect of trauma-focused therapy on the altered T cell distribution in individuals with PTSD: evidence from a randomized controlled trial.

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with a reduced ratio of naïve cytotoxic T lymphocytes, an increased ratio of memory cytotoxic T lymphocytes, and a reduced proportion of FoxP3(+) regulatory T lymphocytes. This study investigated whether these immunological alterations are reversible through an evidence-based psychotherapeutic treatment. Therefore, 34 individuals with PTSD were randomly assigned to either a treatment condition of 12 sessions narrative exposure therapy (NET) or a waitlist control (WLC) group.

Reduced peripheral expression of the glucocorticoid receptor α isoform in individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder: a cumulative effect of trauma burden.

Background: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a serious psychiatric condition that was found to be associated with altered functioning of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and changes in glucocorticoid (GC) responsiveness. The physiological actions of GCs are primarily mediated through GC receptors (GR) of which isoforms with different biological activities exist. This study aimed to investigate whether trauma-experience and/or PTSD are associated with altered expression of GR splice variants.

Posttraumatic stress disorder is associated with an enhanced spontaneous production of pro-inflammatory cytokines by peripheral blood mononuclear cells.

Background: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with an enhanced risk for cardiovascular and other inflammatory diseases. Chronic low-level inflammation has been suggested as a potential mechanism linking these conditions.

Methods: We investigated plasma cytokine levels as well as spontaneous and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated cytokine production by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in a group of 35 severely traumatized PTSD patients compared to 25 healthy controls.

Narrative exposure therapy for PTSD increases top-down processing of aversive stimuli--evidence from a randomized controlled treatment trial.

Background: Little is known about the neurobiological foundations of psychotherapy for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Prior studies have shown that PTSD is associated with altered processing of threatening and aversive stimuli. It remains unclear whether this functional abnormality can be changed by psychotherapy.

Victims of rape show increased cortisol responses to trauma reminders: a study in individuals with war- and torture-related PTSD.

Studies investigating cortisol responses to trauma-related stressors in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have yielded inconsistent results, demonstrating that cortisol responses were enhanced or unaffected when confronted with trauma reminders. This study investigated the effect of the type of trauma experienced on both salivary and plasma cortisol responses during confrontation with trauma-related material. Participants were 30 survivors of war and torture, with and without rape among the traumatic events experienced.

Early processing of threat cues in posttraumatic stress disorder-evidence for a cortical vigilance-avoidance reaction.

Background: The present study investigated the influence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) on early visual processing of affective stimuli in survivors of war and torture.

Methods: Trauma-exposed refugees with (n = 36) and without (n = 21) PTSD as well as unexposed control subjects (n = 16) participated in a magnetoencephalography study with pictures that varied in emotional content.

Results: We found evidence for a biphasic cortical response in patients with PTSD in comparison with the two control groups.

Is freezing an adaptive reaction to threat? Evidence from heart rate reactivity to emotional pictures in victims of war and torture.

The influence of past traumatic experiences on the defense cascade in response to affective pictures was examined in survivors of war and torture. Trauma-exposed refugees with and without Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as well as healthy individuals viewed 75 pictures that varied in emotional content. Heart rate (HR) was recorded during the flickering stimulation of affective pictures in the context of a steady-state experiment.

Substantial reduction of naïve and regulatory T cells following traumatic stress.

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with an enhanced susceptibility to various somatic diseases. However, the exact mechanisms linking traumatic stress to subsequent physical health problems have remained unclear. This study investigated peripheral T lymphocyte differentiation subsets in 19 individuals with war and torture related PTSD compared to 27 non-PTSD controls (n=14 trauma-exposed controls; n=13 non-exposed controls).

Imaging cortical activity following affective stimulation with a high temporal and spatial resolution.

Background: The affective and motivational relevance of a stimulus has a distinct impact on cortical processing, particularly in sensory areas. However, the spatial and temporal dynamics of this affective modulation of brain activities remains unclear. The purpose of the present study was the development of a paradigm to investigate the affective modulation of cortical networks with a high temporal and spatial resolution.

Pattern of cortical activation during processing of aversive stimuli in traumatized survivors of war and torture.

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been associated with an altered processing of threat-related stimuli. In particular, an attentional bias towards threat cues has been consistently found in behavioral studies. However, it is unclear whether increased attention towards threat cues translates into preferential processing as neurophysiological studies have yielded inconsistent findings.

The use of the LHRH-analogue Buserelin in the treatment of prostatic cancer. A 10-year review on 1522 patients treated in 119 centres on 4 continents.

In the ten years from 1979-1988, a total of 1725 patients with advanced prostatic cancer were entered into 28 studies, in which Buserelin as a nasal spray was the main androgen deprivation therapy. Patients treated with orchiectomy or other anti-androgen agents used in comparative groups, were considered unsuitable for the purpose of this study, which pools the data of the 1522 patients who received Buserelin monotherapy. Patients with stages C, D1 or D2 prostatic cancer who received Buserelin as monotherapy and had a known treatment duration were eligible for efficacy analysis.

Sustained suppression of testosterone production by the luteinising-hormone releasing-hormone agonist buserelin in patients with advanced prostate carcinoma. A new therapeutic approach?

Nine patients with advanced carcinoma of the prostate were treated with the luteinising-hormone-releasing-hormone agonist buserelin (2 mg/day subcutaneously for 3 days then 0.4-1.2 mg/day intranasally for up to 24 weeks).

Endocrine studies with a gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogue to achieve withdrawal of testosterone in prostate carcinoma patients.

This investigation on 12 well-defined patients with untreated, advanced prostatic adenocarcinoma establishes the gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogue [D-Ser(But)6](1-9)-nonapeptide-ethylamide (Hoe 766) as an effective, safe and non-toxic form of medical castration. Hoe 766 was given either as subcutaneous injections of 2 x 200 micrograms/day over 14 days and pernasal application (3 x 400 micrograms/day) thereafter, or as subcutaneous injections of 3 x 1,000 micrograms/day over 6 days and pernasal application thereafter in the dosage mentioned above. Both dose regimens were equally effective: pituitary overstimulation between days 3 and 6 with a rise of serum HL and testosterone; pituitary and testicular desensitization with LH and testosterone decline between days 6 and 14; medical castration with average serum testosterone levels maintained around 0.