Post-traumatic stress disorder: A biopsychosocial case-control study investigating peripheral blood protein biomarkers

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: Identifying Potential Differences in Participant Response to CAPS-5 Life Events Checklist Questionnaire Based on Gender

“…Furthermore, physical and psychological comorbidities were recorded for all subjects, namely pain and sleep disturbances. These finding have been reported earlier [17].…”

“…Each participant in the study answered a CAPS-5 Life Events Checklist Questionnaire, undertaken by a qualified clinician or psychologist. In all cases, the psychiatric diagnosis was PTSD (behaviours, medications, comorbidities and other clinical parameters have been reported previously) [17]. A summary of the CAPS-5 Life Events Checklist questionnaire and results are detailed in Table 2.…”

“…Sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of the PTSD participants involved in the study, including behaviours (smoking (years) and alcohol use (Y/N)), BMI, pulse, blood pressure, comorbidities (including psychological e.g., depression, anxiety, panic disorder, ADD, suicide ideation), medications, substance abuse, and serum biomarker measurements, have been described previously [17].…”

Sleep Disturbances and Chronic Pain as Potential Indicators for Therapeutic Intervention in Subjects with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

“…A CAPS-5 or PCL-5 score < 33 was considered negative for PTSD [41]. A detailed description of the psychological assessment has been described previously [38].…”

“…The aim of the pilot study was to collect information on the relationship between clinical, sociodemographic factors and comorbidities of PTSD such as SDs and pain, to identify patient characteristics and behaviours that could be targeted for therapeutic interventional modalities. Previously [38], we identified blood biomarkers that could be used in combination with the PCL-5 to potentially measure treatment efficacy; we suggested that by improving sleep quality (measured by an increase in serum EGF), working with participants in an attempt to attenuate intrusive memories (measured by a decrease in serum tPA), and sustained pain relief (measured by a decrease in serum IL-8), serum biomarkers, in combination with the PCL-5 (score), [biomarker risk score (BRS) + clinical risk score (CRS) = patient management] pre and post-treatment(s), could serve as indicators of improved wellbeing and treatment efficacy. Further studies investigating these relationships and potential treatment options, using both PCL-5 score and blood biomarker measurements in larger patient cohorts are warranted.…”