title: Neuroinflammatory pathways in anxiety, posttraumatic stress, and obsessive compulsive disorders.
abstract: As prevalence of anxiety, posttraumatic stress, and obsessive compulsive disorders continue to rise worldwide, increasing focus has been placed on immune mediated theories in understanding the underlying mechanisms of these disorders. Associations between the dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and these disorders have been recognized in the scientific literature, specifically in regard to cortisol levels, as well as changes in pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines. The present commentary will systematically assess the scientific literature within the past decade in regard to the psychoneuroimmunology of anxiety, posttraumatic stress, and obsessive compulsive disorders. Understanding the mechanisms of these disorders is essential in order to determine efficacious and targeted treatment strategies, which may lead to substantial improvements in overall functioning, as well as significant decreases in societal and economic burden.
authors: START Clinic for Mood and Anxiety Disorders, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors: Melissa
authors: M
authors: Furtado
authors: START Clinic for Mood and Anxiety Disorders, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada; The Northern Ontario School of Medicine, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada; Department of Psychology, Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada; Adler Graduate Professional School, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Electronic address: mkatzman@startclinic.ca.
authors: Martin A
authors: MA
authors: Katzman
mesh_terms: D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007030:Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000097:blood; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000276:immunology*; D010913:Pituitary-Adrenal System; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000276:immunology*; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D015850:Interleukin-6; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha
keywords: Generalized anxiety disorder; Hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis; Inflammation; Obsessive compulsive disorder; Panic disorder; Posttraumatic stress disorder; Social anxiety disorder