title: Elevated serum homocysteine levels in male patients with PTSD.
abstract: It has been suggested that an elevated serum or plasma homocysteine level may be a risk factor for neuropsychiatric conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, and depression. Because depression is closely related to anxiety disorders, and because it has been suggested that stress may be associated with an elevated homocysteine level, we studied whether serum homocysteine levels are elevated in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Total serum homocysteine levels in 28 male patients with PTSD were compared to those of 223 healthy controls. The effect of PTSD on the serum homocysteine level was significant (F=42.96, P<.0001). In a regression model for the PTSD patients, the duration of PTSD was found to predict serum homocysteine levels (t=2.228, P=.035). Our results suggest that elevated levels of homocysteine in male patients with PTSD may be related to pathophysiological aspects associated with the chronicity of this disorder.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beersheva, Israel. yossilevine@gmail.com
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Levine
authors.forename: Igor
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Timinsky
authors.forename: Tali
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Vishne
authors.forename: Tzvi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Dwolatzky
authors.forename: Susana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Roitman
authors.forename: Zeev
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Kaplan
authors.forename: Moshe
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kotler
authors.forename: Ben-Ami
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Sela
authors.forename: Baruch
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Spivak
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003863:Depression / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D006710:Homocysteine / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000097:blood* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D006710:Homocysteine