Turkish Neurosurgery 2014 , Vol 24 , Num 6
Altered Neurotransmitter Levels with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Gui-qing ZHANG1, Jian-xia YANG1, Yue-qi ZHANG1, Xia LIANG1, Min HU1, Jian FAN2
1First Affiliated Hospital of Shihezi University, College of Medicine, Department of Rehabilitation Psychology, Shihezi, China
2Shihezi University, College of Medicine, Department of Nursing, Shihezi, China
DOI : 10.5137/1019-5149.JTN.8723-13.1 AIM: The aim of this study was to observe the changes in the monoamine neurotransmitter levels of patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and explore whether the neurotransmitter level is correlated with the severity of PTSD.

MATERIAL and METHODS: A total of 15 PTSD patients without any physical injuries were enrolled into the study. Another 15 cases of prerestoration patients were recruited as controls who experienced traumatic events but did not experience PTSD or had a Posttraumatic stress disorder Check List-Civilian version (PCL-C) score lower than 12 points. The levels of plasma monoamine neurotransmitters, including norepinephrine, 5-hydroxytryptamine, and dopamine, were tested using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays.

RESULTS: No significant differences were found between the monoamine neurotransmitter levels of the PTSD and the control groups (p > 0.05). A correlation study confirmed that the monoamine neurotransmitter levels and the PCL-C scores of the PTSD group were not significantly correlated (p > 0.05).

CONCLUSION: No neurotransmitter changes are seen in PTSD caused by simple mental trauma, and the PCL-C scores do not associate with PTSD. Keywords : Post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD), Neurotransmitter, Correlation

Corresponding author : Jian Fan, fanjiancn@126.com