Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33825945›Full record

ReviewJournal of neural transmission (Vienna, Austria : 1996)2021

Genes and hormones of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis in post-traumatic stress disorder. What is their role in symptom expression and treatment response?

Susanne Fischer, Tabea Schumacher, Christine Knaevelsrud, Ulrike Ehlert, Sarah Schumacher

Open access · hybridAbstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Journal of neural transmission (Vienna, Austria : 1996), 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
17citing papers in PubMed
3.9field-weighted citation impact, top 5% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

17 citing papers in PubMed, 40 citations in OpenAlex.

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  9. Validity of mental and physical stress models.Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews · 2024
    Review
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  16. Sex-Related Predisposition to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Development-The Role of Neuropeptides.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021
    Review
  17. Recent developments in stress and anxiety research.Journal of neural transmission (Vienna, Austria : 1996) · 2021
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Susanne FischerInstitute of Psychology, Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Zurich, Binzmuehlestrasse 14/Box 26, 8050, Zurich, Switzerland. s.fischer@psychologie.uzh.ch.ORCID 0000-0002-9111-9933
Tabea SchumacherDepartment of Education and Psychology, Division of Clinical Psychological Intervention, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
Christine KnaevelsrudDepartment of Education and Psychology, Division of Clinical Psychological Intervention, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
Ulrike EhlertInstitute of Psychology, Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Zurich, Binzmuehlestrasse 14/Box 26, 8050, Zurich, Switzerland.
Sarah SchumacherDepartment of Education and Psychology, Division of Clinical Psychological Intervention, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
Freie Universität Berlin · DEUniversity of Zurich · CHUniversity of Potsdam · DE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundLess than half of all individuals with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) remit spontaneously and a large proportion of those seeking treatment do not respond sufficiently. This suggests that there may be subgroups of individuals who are in need of augmentative or alternative treatments. One of the most frequent pathophysiological findings in PTSD is alterations in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, including enhanced negative feedback sensitivity and attenuated peripheral cortisol. Given the role of the HPA axis in cognition, this pattern may contribute to PTSD symptoms and interfere with key processes of standard first-line treatments, such as trauma-focused cognitive behavioural therapy (TF-CBT).

methodsThis review provides a comprehensive summary of the current state of research regarding the role of HPA axis functioning in PTSD symptoms and treatment.

resultsOverall, there is preliminary evidence that hypocortisolaemia contributes to symptom manifestation in PTSD; that it predicts non-responses to TF-CBT; and that it is subject to change in parallel with positive treatment trajectories. Moreover, there is evidence that genetic and epigenetic alterations within the genes NR3C1 and FKBP5 are associated with this hypocortisolaemic pattern and that some of these alterations change as symptoms improve over the course of treatment.

conclusionsFuture research priorities include investigations into the role of the HPA axis in day-to-day symptom variation, the time scale in which biological changes in response to treatment occur, and the effects of sex. Furthermore, before conceiving augmentative or alternative treatments that target the described mechanisms, multilevel studies are warranted.

Indexed as

Cognitive Behavioral TherapyStress Disorders, Post-TraumaticHumansHydrocortisoneHypothalamo-Hypophyseal SystemPituitary-Adrenal SystemHydrocortisoneCognitive behavioural therapyCortisolMethylationPost-traumatic stress disorderPsychotherapy

Identifiers

PMID33825945
PMCPMC8423677
OpenAlexW3146730195

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.