Psychoneuroendocrinology
Volume 34, Issue 9 , Pages 1304-1313 , October 2009

Cortisol metabolic predictors of response to psychotherapy for symptoms of PTSD in survivors of the World Trade Center attacks on September 11, 2001

  • Rachel Yehuda

      Affiliations

    • Traumatic Stress Studies Division, Mount Sinai School of Medicine and James J. Peters Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Psychiatry 116/A - OOMH, 130 West Kingsbridge Road, Bronx, NY 10468-3904, USA
    • Corresponding Author InformationCorresponding author. Tel.: +1 718 584 9000x6964; fax: +1 718 741 4775.
    • ,
  • Linda M. Bierer

      Affiliations

    • Traumatic Stress Studies Division, Mount Sinai School of Medicine and James J. Peters Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Psychiatry 116/A - OOMH, 130 West Kingsbridge Road, Bronx, NY 10468-3904, USA
    • ,
  • Casey Sarapas

      Affiliations

    • Traumatic Stress Studies Division, Mount Sinai School of Medicine and James J. Peters Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Psychiatry 116/A - OOMH, 130 West Kingsbridge Road, Bronx, NY 10468-3904, USA
    • ,
  • Iouri Makotkine

      Affiliations

    • Traumatic Stress Studies Division, Mount Sinai School of Medicine and James J. Peters Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Psychiatry 116/A - OOMH, 130 West Kingsbridge Road, Bronx, NY 10468-3904, USA
    • ,
  • Ruth Andrew

      Affiliations

    • Endocrinology Unit, Queen's Medical Research Institute, University of Edinburgh, 47 Little France Crescent, Edinburgh EH16 4TJ, UK
    • ,
  • Jonathan R. Seckl

      Affiliations

    • Endocrinology Unit, Queen's Medical Research Institute, University of Edinburgh, 47 Little France Crescent, Edinburgh EH16 4TJ, UK

Received 23 December 2008 ,Revised 27 March 2009 ,Accepted 30 March 2009.

References 

  1. Aerni A, Traber R, Hock C, Roozendaal B, Schelling G, Papassotiropoulos A, et al. Low-dose cortisol for symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder. Am. J. Psychiatry. 2004;161:1488–1490
  2. Agís-Balboa RC, Pinna G, Pibiri F, Kadriu B, Costa E, Guidotti A. Down-regulation of neurosteroid biosynthesis in corticolimbic circuits mediates social isolation-induced behavior in mice. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 2007;104:18736–18741
  3. Andrew R, Phillips DIW, Walker BR. Obesity and gender influence cortisol secretion and metabolism in man. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 1998;83:1806–1809
  4. Baker DG, West SA, Nicholson WE, Ekhator NN, Kasckow JW, Hill KK, et al. Serial CSF corticotropin-releasing hormone levels and adrenocortical activity in combat veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder. Am. J. Psychiatry. 1999;156:585–588
  5. Best R, Walker BR. Additional value of measurement of urinary cortisone and unconjugated cortisol metabolites in assessing the activity of 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase in vivo. Clin. Endocrinol. 1997;47:231–236
  6. Bierer LM, Tischler L, Labinsky E, Cahill S, Foa E, Yehuda R. Clinical correlates of 24-h cortisol and norepinephrine excretion among subjects seeking treatment following the world trade center attacks on 9/11. Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 2006;1071:514–520
  7. Bonne O, Brandes D, Segman R, Pitman RK, Yehuda R, Shalev AY. Prospective evaluation of plasma cortisol in recent trauma survivors with posttraumatic stress disorder. Psychiatry Res. 2003;119:171–175
  8. Boscarino JA. Posttraumatic stress disorder, exposure to combat, and lower plasma cortisol among Vietnam veterans: findings and clinical implications. J. Consult. Clin. Psychol. 1996;64:191–201
  9. Boscarino JA, Galea S, Adams RE, Ahern J, Resnick H, Vlahov D. Mental health service and medication use in New York City after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack. Psychiatr. Serv. 2004;55:274–283
  10. Bremner D, Vermetten E, Kelley ME. Cortisol, dehydroepiandrosterone, and estradiol measured over 24hours in women with childhood sexual abuse-related posttraumatic stress disorder. J. Nerv. Ment. Dis. 2007;195:919–927
  11. Bryant RA, Mastrodomenico J, Felmingham KL, Hopwood S, Kenny L, Kandris E, et al. Treatment of acute stress disorder: a randomized controlled trial. Arch. Gen. Psychiatry. 2008;65:659–667
  12. Delahanty DL, Nugent NR. Predicting PTSD prospectively based on prior trauma history and immediate biological responses. Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 2006;1071:27–40
  13. Edwards CR, Stewart PM, Burt D, Brett L, McIntyre MA, Sutanto WS, et al. Localisation of 11 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase—tissue specific protector of the mineralocorticoid receptor. Lancet. 1998;2:986–989
  14. Ehlers A, Clark DM, Hackmann A, McManus F, Fennell M, Herbert C, et al. A randomized controlled trial of cognitive therapy, a self-help booklet, and repeated assessments as early interventions for posttraumatic stress disorder. Arch. Gen. Psychiatry. 2003;60:1024–1032
  15. Foa EB, Riggs DS, Dancu CV, Rothbaum BO. Reliability and validity of a brief instrument for assessing post-traumatic stress disorder. J. Trauma. Stress. 1993;6:459–479
  16. Foa EB, Cashman L, Jaycox LH, Perry K. The validation of a self-report measure of PTSD: the PTSD diagnostic scale. Psychol. Assess. 1997;9:445–451
  17. Forbes D, Creamer M, Allen N, Elliott P, McHugh T, Debenham P, et al. The MMPI-2 as a predictor of symptom change following treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder. J. Pers. Assess. 2002;79:321–336
  18. Forbes D, Creamer M, Allen N, McHugh T, Debenham P, Hopwood M. MMPI-2 as a predictor of change in PTSD symptom clusters: a further analysis of the Forbes et al. data set. J. Pers. Assess. 2003;81:183–186
  19. Forbes D, Creamer M, Allen N, Elliott P, McHugh T, Debenham P, et al. MMPI-2 based subgroups of veterans with combat-related PTSD: differential patterns of symptom change after treatment. J. Nerv. Ment. Dis. 2003;191:531–537
  20. Frye CA, Walf AA, Rhodes ME, Harney JP. Progesterone enhances motor, anxiolytic, analgesic, and antidepressive behavior of wild-type mice, but not those deficient in type 1 5 alpha-reductase. Brain Res. 2004;1004:116–124
  21. Goenjian AK, Pynoos RS, Steinberg AM, Endres D, Abraham K, Geffner ME, et al. Hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal activity among Armenian adolescents with PTSD symptoms. J. Trauma. Stress. 2003;16:319–323
  22. Griffin MG, Resick PA, Yehuda R. Enhanced cortisol suppression following dexamethasone administration in domestic violence survivors. Am. J. Psychiatry. 2005;162:1192–1199
  23. Hamilton M. A rating scale for depression. J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatry. 1960;23:56–62
  24. Hawk LW, Dougall AL, Ursano RJ, Baum A. Urinary catecholamines and cortisol in recent-onset posttraumatic stress disorder after motor vehicle accidents. Psychosom. Med. 2000;62:423–434
  25. Hebbar PB, Archer TK. Chromatin-dependent cooperativity between site-specific transcription factors in vivo. J. Biol. Chem. 2007;282:8284–8291
  26. Kellner M, Yehuda R, Arlt J, Wiedemann K. Longitudinal course of salivary cortisol in post-traumatic stress disorder. Acta Psychiatr. Scand. 2002;105:153–156
  27. Kessler RC, Sonnega A, Bromet E, Hughes M, Nelson CB. Posttraumatic stress disorder in the National Comorbidity Survey. Arch. Gen. Psychiatry. 1995;52:1048–1060
  28. King JA, Mandansky D, King S, Fletcher KE, Brewer J. Early sexual abuse and low cortisol. Psychiatr. Clin. Neurosci. 2001;55:71–74
  29. Kita A, Furukama K. Involvement of neurosteroids in the anxiolytic-like effects of AC-5216 in mice. Pharmacol. Biochem. Behav. 2008;89:171–178
  30. Livingstone DE, Jones GC, Smith K, Jamieson PM, Andrew R, Kenyon CJ, et al. Understanding the role of glucocorticoids in obesity: tissue-specific alterations of corticosterone metabolism in obese Zucker rats. Endocrinology. 2000;141:560–563
  31. Mann PE. Finasteride delays the onset of maternal behavior in primigravid rats. Physiol. Behav. 2006;88:333–338
  32. Mason JW, Giller EL, Kosten TR, Ostroff RB, Podd L. Urinary free-cortisol levels in posttraumatic stress disorder patients. J. Nerv. Ment. Dis. 1986;174:145–149
  33. Mason JW, Wang S, Yehuda R, Riney S, Charney DS, Southwick SM. Psychogenic lowering of urinary cortisol levels linked to increased emotional numbing and a shame-depressive syndrome in combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder. Psychosom. Med. 2001;63:387–401
  34. Melcangi RC, Poletti A, Cavarretta I, Celotti F, Colciago A, Magnaghi V, et al. The 5alpha-reductase in the central nervous system: expression and modes of control. J. Steroid Biochem. Mol. Biol. 1998;65:295–299
  35. Meewisse ML, Reitsma JB, de Vries GJ, Gersons BP, Olff M. Cortisol and post-traumatic stress disorder in adults: systematic review and meta-analysis. Br. J. Psychiatry. 2007;191:387–392
  36. Oberlander TF, Weinberg J, Papsdorf M, Grunau R, Misri S, Devlin AM. Prenatal exposure to maternal depression, neonatal methylation of human glucocorticoid receptor gene (NR3C1) and infant cortisol stress responses. Epigenetics. 2008;3:97–106
  37. Olff M, Güzelcan Y, de Vries GJ, Assies J, Gersons BP. HPA- and HPT-axis alterations in chronic posttraumatic stress disorder. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2006;31:1220–1230
  38. Olff M, Meewisse ML, Kleber RJ, van der Velden PG, Drogendijk AN, van Amsterdam JG, et al. Tobacco usage interacts with postdisaster psychopathology on circadian salivary cortisol. Int. J. Psychophysiol. 2006;59:251–258
  39. Olff M, de Vries GJ, Güzelcan Y, Assies J, Gersons BP. Changes in cortisol and DHEA plasma levels after psychotherapy for PTSD. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2007;32:619–626
  40. Palermo M, Shackleton CH, Mantero F, Stewart PM. Urinary free cortisone and the assessment of 11 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase activity in man. Clin. Endocrinol. 1996;45:605–611
  41. Paterson JM, Morton NM, Fievet C, Kenyon CJ, Holmes MC, Staels B, et al. Metabolic syndrome without obesity: hepatic overexpression of 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 in transgenic mice. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 2004;101:7088–7093
  42. Sánchez P, Torres JM, Gavete P, Ortega E. Effects of swim stress on mRNA and protein levels of steroid 5alpha-reductase isozymes in prefrontal cortex of adult male rats. Neurochem. Int. 2008;52:426–431
  43. Seckl JR, Walker BR. Minireview: 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1—a tissue-specific amplifier of glucocorticoid action. Endocrinology. 2001;142:1371–1376
  44. Seckl, J.R., 2008. Glucocorticoids, developmental ‘programming’ and the risk of affective dysfunction. In: de Kloet, E.R., Oitzl, M.S., Vermetten, E. (Eds.), Prog. Brain Res., vol. 167. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp. 17–31.
  45. Seckl JR, Meaney MJ. Glucocorticoid “programming” and PTSD risk. Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 2006;1071:351–378
  46. Schelling G, Roozendaal B, Krauseneck T, Schmoelz M, De Quervain D, Briegel J. Efficacy of hydrocortisone in preventing posttraumatic stress disorder following critical illness and major surgery. Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 2006;1071:46–53
  47. Schnurr PP, Friedman MJ, Engel CC, Foa EB, Shea MT, Chow BK, et al. Cognitive behavioral therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder in women: a randomized controlled trial. JAMA. 2007;297:820–830
  48. Shalev AY, Videlock EJ, Peleg T, Segman R, Pitman RK, Yehuda R. Stress hormones and post-traumatic stress disorder in civilian trauma victims: a longitudinal study. Part I: HPA axis responses. Int. J. Neuropsychopharmacol. 2008;11:365–372
  49. Sijbrandij M, Olff M, Reitsma JB, Carlier IV, de Vries MH, Gersons BP. Treatment of acute posttraumatic stress disorder with brief cognitive behavioral therapy: a randomized controlled trial. Am. J. Psychiatry. 2007;164:82–90
  50. Symonds CS, Gallagher P, Thompson JM, Young AH. Effects of the menstrual cycle on mood, neurocognitive and neuroendocrine function in healthy premenopausal women. Psychol. Med. 2004;34:93–102
  51. Spitzer RL, Gibbon M, Williams JBW. Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis 1 Disorders (SCID). New York: New York State Psychiatric Institute, Biometrics Research; 1995;
  52. Steptoe A, Ussher M. Smoking, cortisol and nicotine. Int. J. Psychophysiol. 2006;59:228–235
  53. Tucker P, Beebe KL, Burgin C, Wyatt DB, Parker DE, Masters BK, et al. Paroxetine treatment of depression with posttraumatic stress disorder: effects on autonomic reactivity and cortisol secretion. J. Clin. Psychopharmacol. 2004;24:131–140
  54. Tucker P, Ruwe WD, Masters B, Parker DE, Hossain A, Trautman RP, et al. Neuroimmune and cortisol changes in selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor and placebo treatment of chronic posttraumatic stress disorder. Biol. Psychiatry. 2004;56:121–128
  55. Westerbacka J, Yki-Jarvinen H, Vehkavaara S, Hakkinen AM, Andrew R, Wake DJ, et al. Body fat distribution and cortisol metabolism in healthy men: enhanced 5beta-reductase and lower cortisol/cortisone metabolite ratios in men with fatty liver. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 2003;88:4924–4931
  56. Yehuda R, Kahana B, Binder-Brynes K, Southwick SM, Mason JW, Giller EL. Low urinary cortisol excretion in Holocaust survivors with posttraumatic stress disorder. Am. J. Psychiatry. 1995;152:982–986
  57. Yehuda R, Teicher MH, Trestman RL, Levengood RA, Siever LJ. Cortisol regulation in posttraumatic stress disorder and major depression: a chronobiological analysis. Biol. Psychiatry. 1996;40:79–88
  58. Yehuda R. Current status of cortisol findings in post-traumatic stress disorder. Psychiatr. Clin. North Am. 2002;25:341–368
  59. Yehuda R, Engel SM, Brand SR, Seckl J, Marcus SM, Berkowitz GS. Transgenerational effects of posttraumatic stress disorder in babies of mothers exposed to the World Trade Center attacks during pregnancy. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 2005;90:4115–4118
  60. Yehuda R, Bryant R, Marmar C, Zohar J. Pathological responses to terrorism. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2005;30:1793–1805
  61. Yehuda R. Advances in understanding neuroendocrine alterations in PTSD and their therapeutic implications. Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 2006;1071:137–166
  62. Yehuda R, Morris A, Labinsky E, Zemelman S, Schmeidler J. Ten-year follow-up study of cortisol levels in aging holocaust survivors with and without PTSD. J. Trauma. Stress. 2007;20:757–761
  63. Yehuda R, Teicher MH, Seckl JR, Grossman RA, Morris A, Bierer LM. Parental posttraumatic stress disorder as a vulnerability factor for low cortisol trait in offspring of holocaust survivors. Arch. Gen. Psychiatry. 2007;64:1040–1048

PII: S0306-4530(09)00115-2

doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2009.03.018

Psychoneuroendocrinology
Volume 34, Issue 9 , Pages 1304-1313 , October 2009

Article Tools

* Image Usage & Resolution