title: Altered salivary alpha-amylase awakening response in Bosnian War refugees with posttraumatic stress disorder.
abstract: In posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), chronic activation of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) has been suggested. No study so far has investigated diurnal secretion patterns of salivary alpha-amylase (sAA) in PTSD, a promising candidate for non-invasive assessment of SNS activity. We compared sAA diurnal profiles between a group of Bosnian War refugees with PTSD and a healthy control group, and further analyzed for associations with psychiatric symptoms and glucocorticoid (GC) sensitivity of inflammatory regulation. PTSD patients showed a sAA awakening response profile that was opposite to those seen in healthy controls, i.e. an increase instead of a sharp decrease. Patterns of sAA secretion were further positively associated with psychiatric symptoms of PTSD. Finally, higher sAA awakening responses were associated with higher GC sensitivity of inflammatory cytokine production. These findings are in line with altered SNS function in PTSD, and lend further support for employing assessment of diurnal sAA profiles as non-invasive biomarkers in stress-related disease.
authors: Department of Psychology & Volen National Center for Complex Systems, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA 02454, USA. thoma@brandeis.edu
authors: Myriam Verena
authors: MV
authors: Thoma
authors: Ljiljana
authors: L
authors: Joksimovic
authors: Clemens
authors: C
authors: Kirschbaum
authors: Jutta Manuela
authors: JM
authors: Wolf
authors: Nicolas
authors: N
authors: Rohleder
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017522:Bosnia and Herzegovina; D002940:Circadian Rhythm / Q000502:physiology; D016207:Cytokines / Q000378:metabolism; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005260:Female; D005938:Glucocorticoids / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011594:Psychometrics; D012036:Refugees; D012463:Saliva / Q000201:enzymology*; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014857:Warfare; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000523:psychology; D000516:alpha-Amylases / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines; D005938:Glucocorticoids; D000516:alpha-Amylases