Effects of PTSD
"Of the 2 million Americans who have served in the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, at least 400,000. or as much as 20 percent, have developed or are at risk of developing PTSD, a psychological condition caused by exposure to severe trauma.
Some 23 million veterans, like many people, will later face more common illnesses, such as cancer, heart disease and Alzheimer's, as a function of aging. But a growing body of work shows these diseases may be exacerbated by traumatic stress, the researchers found.
For example, veterans with PTSD are two to three times more likely to develop heart disease than those who do not have the disorder.
"These are young men and women, most of whom do not yet have heart disease," said Dr. Beth Cohen, a staff physician at the hospital, in a statement about her research. "If we can learn why they are at greater risk now, we can find ways to help avoid heart disease later in life."
Unlike heart disease, no effective ways to prevent or treat Alzheimer's disease yet exist, but researchers are studying soldiers' brains to learn more about how combat-related stress affects the brain's biology and increases the chance of developing Alzheimer's.
They have found that a section of the hippocampus - the part of the brain that is devoted to short-term memory and learning new things - is significantly smaller in veterans with PTSD. Researchers are trying to determine if this smaller section can grow over time with therapy and treatment for stress.
"It's possible new stem cells, new brain cells are made, or it's possible the existing neurons or cells get plumper or have more synapses and connection," said Weiner, also professor of medicine, radiology, psychiatry and neurology at UCSF. "Nobody knows. Our ability to probe the brain and understand these mechanisms is really limited."
S.F. Chronicle
Victoria Colifer
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