Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2019 Feb 28:11:216-220.
doi: 10.1016/j.dadm.2019.01.003. eCollection 2019 Dec.

Posttraumatic stress disorder and total amyloid burden and amyloid-β 42/40 ratios in plasma: Results from a pilot study of World Trade Center responders

Sean A P Clouston  1 , Yael Deri  2 , Erica Diminich  3 , Richard Kew  4 , Roman Kotov  5 , Candace Stewart  2 , Xiaohua Yang  2 , Sam Gandy  6 , Mary Sano  7   8 , Evelyn J Bromet  5 , Benjamin J Luft  2
Affiliations

Posttraumatic stress disorder and total amyloid burden and amyloid-β 42/40 ratios in plasma: Results from a pilot study of World Trade Center responders

Sean A P Clouston et al. Alzheimers Dement (Amst). .

Abstract

Introduction: Chronic posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with poor memory and increased burden of various degenerative cerebral neuropathologies. The goal of this pilot study was to determine whether PTSD was associated with changes in plasma-based neuropathological biomarkers of neurodegeneration among World Trade Center (WTC) responders.

Methods: Thirty-four WTC responders had blood drawn and flash-frozen within 15 minutes of retrieval. PTSD symptoms were assessed at that time. Age, sex, and WTC exposure duration were obtained from medical records. Plasma was assayed in duplicate using an ultra-sensitive single-molecule enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to examine the distribution of amyloid-β (Aβ) 42/40 ratios, total Aβ, total tau, and neurofilament light (NfL). The comparison group was drawn from a bank of healthy controls collected and assayed at the same facility.

Results: The average age of WTC responders at blood draw was 53 years. Half were PTSD positive (PTSD+) as indicated by symptom severity. WTC responders had lower Aβ42/Aβ40 ratios but higher total tau and NfL levels in the plasma than healthy controls. PTSD+ status was associated with lower plasma Aβ load and higher Aβ42/Aβ40 ratios.

Discussion: Findings suggest that PTSD may be associated with alterations in plasma markers related to Aβ, tau, and NfL, highlighting the potential association between PTSD status and neurodegenerative neuropathology in WTC responders.

Keywords: Amyloid burden; Cognitive impairment; Neurofilament-light; Plasma markers of neuropathology; Posttraumatic stress; Tau; World Trade Center disaster.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Ehlers A., Hackmann A., Michael T. Intrusive re-experiencing in post-traumatic stress disorder: phenomenology, theory, and therapy. Memory. 2004;12:403–415. - PubMed
    1. Bromet E., Hobbs M., Clouston S., Gonzalez A., Kotov R., Luft B. DSM-IV post-traumatic stress disorder among World Trade Center responders 11–13 years after the disaster of 11 September 2001 (9/11) Psychol Med. 2016;46:771–783. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Jeong Y.H., Park C.H., Yoo J., Shin K.Y., Ahn S.M., Kim H.S. Chronic stress accelerates learning and memory impairments and increases amyloid deposition in APPV717I-CT100 transgenic mice, an Alzheimer's disease model. FASEB J. 2006;20:729–731. - PubMed
    1. Kang J.-E., Cirrito J.R., Dong H., Csernansky J.G., Holtzman D.M. Acute stress increases interstitial fluid amyloid-β via corticotropin-releasing factor and neuronal activity. Proc Natl Acad Sci. 2007;104:10673–10678. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Wrocklage K.M., Averill L.A., Scott J.C., Averill C.L., Schweinsburg B., Trejo M. Cortical thickness reduction in combat exposed US veterans with and without PTSD. Eur Neuropsychopharmacol. 2017;27:515–525. - PMC - PubMed