Neuroprogression in post-traumatic stress disorder
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has a lifetime prevalence of 10–12% in women and 5–6% in men. Patients with PTSD are at greater risk for obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus, atherosclerosis, and myocardial infarction. In addition, a subset of these patients develops cognitive impairments unattributable to age or disease comorbidity alone, with hippocampal and prefrontal cortex atrophy. This chapter aims to review the evidence for neuroprogression in PTSD. This concept has been proposed as the pathological rewiring of the brain that takes place in parallel with the clinical and neurocognitive deterioration in the course of some psychiatric disorders. We will also review the biological pathways underlying neuroprogression in PTSD, including changes in inflammatory cytokines, corticosteroids, neurotrophins, and oxidative stress markers.