Endocannabinoid Concentrations in Hair are Associated with PTSD Symptom Severity
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Date
2016
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Psychoneuroendocrinology
Abstract
The endocannabinoid system has been implicated in the regulation of the stress response, fear memory
formation, and inflammatory processes. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can result from exposure
to extreme stress and is characterized by strong, associative memories for the traumatic events
experienced. Furthermore, an elevated physical disease risk has been observed in PTSD, likely to be
mediated by inflammatory processes. Therefore, altered endocannabinoid regulation can be expected
in individuals with PTSD. However, attempts to assess PTSD-associated differences in the
endocannabinoid system from human blood samples have provided inconsistent results, possibly due
to fluctuating levels of endocannabinoids. In hair, these neuromodulators are accumulated over time
and thus give access to a more stable and reliable assessment.
We therefore investigated PTSD-associated differences in hair concentrations of endocannabinoids (Nacyl-
ethanolamides palmitoylethanolamide [PEA], oleoylethanolamide [OEA] and
stearoylethanolamide [SEA]) in 38 rebel war survivors from Northern Uganda suffering from PTSD
and N = 38 healthy rebel war survivors without current and lifetime PTSD. PTSD diagnosis and
symptom severity were assessed in structured clinical interviews employing the Posttraumatic
Diagnostic Scale (PDS). A significant group difference was observed for OEA, with PTSD patients
showing reduced hair concentrations. Regression analyses further revealed strong negative
relationships between all investigated N-acyl-ethanolamides and symptom severity of PTSD. The
observed reductions in endocannabinoids might account for the increased inflammatory state as well
as for the failure to extinguish fear memories observed in PTSD. Our findings add to the accumulating
evidence suggesting the endocannabinoid system as a target for pharmacological enhancement of
exposure-based psychotherapy for PTSD.
Description
Keywords
Posttraumatic stress disorder, Endocannabinoids, Hair, Palmitoylethanolamide, Oleoylethanolamine, Stearoylethanolamine, Mass spectrometry
Citation
Wilker, Sarah, Pfeiffer, Anett, Elbert, Thomas, Ovuga, Emilio, Karabatsiakis, Alexander, Krumbholz, Aniko, Thieme, Detlef, Schelling, Gustav, Kolassa, Iris-Tatjana, Endocannabinoid Concentrations in Hair are Associated with PTSD Symptom Severity.Psychoneuroendocrinology http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2016.02.010