When new research comes out concerning PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder), it is sometimes hard to tell whether the results makes things clearer or merely thickens the plot.
Whether clarifying or confusing, recent research supports a theory that many returning veterans with a diagnosis of PTSD actually suffer from damage to their pituitary gland from a blast injury, or MTBI (mild traumatic brain injury).
The pituitary, about the size of a pea, is situated inside a bony enclosure at the base of the skull and is in contact with the brain’s hypothalamus gland. The pituitary and hypothalamus form a three-pronged feedback loop with the adrenal glands (perched above our kidneys). This feedback system is called the HPA axis, and it is involved in moderating several body processes such as energy use, our mood, and stress response.
If any of the three HPA glands are damaged, the function of the other two is affected as well. Problems with the HPA axis have been suspected of contributing to PTSD.
The Glowing Research
The scientists gave study participants a fluorescent compound (called FDG) that can be tracked by neuro-imaging, with the following results.
- Veterans with MTBI had significantly less uptake of FDG in their hypothalamus when compared to a normal control group.
- Participants with a MTBI-PTSD diagnosis had an elevated uptake of FDG in their pituitary gland when compared to the MTBI-only group.
According to the researchers, these findings back up the idea that many veterans with a PTSD diagnosis really suffer from hypopituitarism, a condition where the pituitary does not produce the correct amount of one or several hormones. The high pituitary FDG reading in the study suggests the gland is working overtime to produce hormones and is not succeeding.
The Hope: Improved Treatment
“This raises the possibility that some PTSD cases are actually hypopituitarism masking itself as PTSD,” said Thomas M. Malone, the study’s lead author. “If that’s the case, then we might be able to help those patients by screening for hormone irregularities and treating those irregularities on an individual basis.”
PTSD, which also has symptom overlap with anxiety and depression, is most often treated with antidepressants, anti-anxiety medications, and psychotherapy—which do not address possible pituitary irregularities.
Source: Science Daily
Photo credit: MarineCorps NewYork / flickr creative commons
