title: The Levels of Cortisol and Oxidative Stress and DNA Damage in Child and Adolescent Victims of Sexual Abuse with or without Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to investigate whether cortisol and oxidative stress levels and DNA damage differ between individuals who developed PTSD or not following a sexual trauma.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study included 61 children aged between 5 and 17 years who sustained sexual abuse (M/F: 18/43). The patients were divided into two groups: patients with PTSD and patients without PTSD based, based on the results of a structured psychiatric interview (K-SADS-PL and CAPS-CA). Cortisol, glutathione peroxidase (GPx), superoxide dismutase (SOD), coenzyme Q, 8-Hydroxy-2-Deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) were all evaluated by the ELISA method.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Our evaluation revealed a diagnosis of PTSD in 51% (n=31) of victims. There was no significant difference between the groups with or without PTSD in terms of cortisol, GPx, SOD, coenzyme Q, and 8-OHdG levels. There was no correlation between CAPS scores and GPx, SOD, coenzyme Q, and 8-OHdG levels between patients with or without PTSD. In patients with PTSD, both cortisol and 8-OHdG levels decreased with increasing time after trauma, and there was no significant correlation with cortisol and 8-OHdG levels in patients without PTSD.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although the present study did not find any difference between the groups in terms of 8-OHdG concentrations, the decreases in both cortisol and 8-OHdG levels with increasing time after trauma is considered to indicate a relationship between cortisol and DNA damage.
authors.affiliation: Department of Child Psychiatry, Dicle University, Medical School, Diyarbakır, Turkey.
authors.forename: Şeref
authors.initials: Ş
authors.lastname: Şimşek
authors.affiliation: Department of Child Psychiatry, Dicle University, Medical School, Diyarbakır, Turkey.
authors.forename: Tuğba
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yüksel
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Dicle University, Medical School, Diyarbakır, Turkey.
authors.forename: İbrahim
authors.initials: İ
authors.lastname: Kaplan
authors.affiliation: Department of Forensic Medicine, Dicle University, Medical School, Diyarbakır, Turkey.
authors.forename: Cem
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Uysal
authors.affiliation: Department of Child Psychiatry, Dicle University, Medical School, Diyarbakır, Turkey.
authors.forename: Hüseyin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Aktaş
keywords: Cortisol; DNA damage; Oxidative stress; PTSD; Sexual abuse; Trauma