Current status of cortisol findings in post-traumatic stress disorder.
This article summarizes findings of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis alterations in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and evaluates likely reasons for the lack of agreement among published studies. Sources of variance caused by methodologic and interpretative differences are highlighted, but the disparate findings are explained as illustrating a more complex neuroendocrinology of PTSD than has previously been described.
Yehuda
Rachel
R
Psychiatry Department, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, One Gustave Levy Place, New York, NY 10029, USA. Rachel.yehuda@med.va.gov
D001143:Arousal; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology; D002940:Circadian Rhythm; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*; D007030:Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System / Q000503:physiopathology; D010913:Pituitary-Adrenal System / Q000503:physiopathology; D011965:Receptors, Glucocorticoid / Q000502:physiology; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000503:physiopathology
D011965:Receptors, Glucocorticoid; D006854:Hydrocortisone