post-traumatic stress disorder

Examples of post-traumatic stress disorder in the following topics:

• Stress and Disease

  • Over-activation of the stress response can result in pathology and disease.
  • Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a severe anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to any event that results in psychological trauma .
  • Sensory input, memory formation, and stress response mechanisms are affected in patients with post-traumatic stress disorder.
  • There is consistent evidence from MRI volumetric studies that hippocampal volume is reduced in post-traumatic stress disorder.
  • Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a severe anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to psychological trauma.

• Fibromyalgia

  • Fibromyalgia is a medical disorder characterized by chronic widespread pain and a heightened and painful response to pressure.
  • It is frequently comorbid with psychiatric conditions such as depression and anxiety, and stress-related disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder.
  • They then narrow down the diagnosis by eliminating the possible disorders one by one until only fibromyalgia is left.
  • Historically, fibromyalgia was considered a musculoskeletal disorder, but it is now considered a disorder of the central nervous system.
  • Some research suggests that these brain anomalies may be the result of childhood stress, or prolonged or severe stress, rather than an inherited disorder.

• Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

  • Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) develops after exposure to an event that is so stressful for an individual that it becomes traumatic.
  • Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) develops after exposure to an event that is so stressful for an individual that it becomes traumatic.
  • Historically (DSM-IV) categorized as an anxiety disorder, it is now  categorized under "Trauma- and Stressor-Related Disorders" in the DSM 5.
  • The HPA axis is a major biological mechanism of stress and stress response
  • Describe the role of the endocrine system in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

• The Fight-or-Flight Response

  • The fight-or-flight response (also called the acute stress response) was first described by Walter Bradford Cannon.
  • The stress response halts or slows down various processes, such as sexual responses and digestive systems, to focus on the stressor situation.
  • Prolonged stress responses may result in chronic suppression of the immune system, leaving the body open to infections.
  • Stress responses are sometimes a result of mental disorders, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (in which the individual shows a stress response when remembering a past trauma) and in panic disorder (in which the stress response is activated by the catastrophic misinterpretations of bodily sensations).
  • Discuss the endocrine system's role in the fight-or-flight response to stress

• Amnesia

  • Functional causes are psychological factors, such as mental disorder, post-traumatic stress, or, in psychoanalytic terms, defense mechanisms.
  • Repressed memory, which refers to the inability to recall information, usually about stressful or traumatic events in persons' lives (e.g. a violent attack or disaster).
  • Post-hypnotic amnesia is where events during hypnosis are forgotten, or where past memories are unable to be recalled.
  • Drug-induced amnesia is intentionally caused by injection of an amnesiac drug to help a patient forget surgery or medical procedures, particularly those not performed under full anesthesia, or likely to be particularly traumatic.
  • It has been claimed that it involves a narrowing of consciousness with attention focused on central perceptual details, and/or that the emotional or traumatic events are processed differently from ordinary memories.

• Traumatic Brain Injury

  • Traumatic brain injury (TBI) occurs when an external force injures the brain and can be caused by a direct impact or by acceleration alone.
  • Traumatic brain injury (TBI), also known as intracranial injury, occurs when an external force traumatically injures the brain.
  • Movement disorders that may develop after TBI include tremor, ataxia (uncoordinated muscle movements), myoclonus (shock-like contractions of muscles), and loss of movement range and control (in particular with a loss of movement repertoire).
  • The risk of post-traumatic seizures increases with severity of trauma and is particularly elevated with certain types of brain trauma such as cerebral contusions or hematomas.

• Agonists, Antagonists, and Drugs

  • Drugs effecting cholinergic neurotransmission may block, hinder, or mimic the action of acetylcholine and alter post-synaptic transmission.
  • The nicotinic acetylcholine receptor agonists are gaining increasing attention as drug candidates for multiple central nervous system disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and nicotine addiction.
  • As beta-adrenergic receptor antagonists, they diminish the effects of epinephrine (adrenaline) and other stress hormones.

• Menopause

  • In addition, women who have some sort of functional disorder affecting the reproductive system (e.g., endometriosis, polycystic ovary syndrome, cancer of the reproductive organs) can go into menopause at a younger age than the normal timeframe.
  • The functional disorders often significantly speed up the menopausal process and create more significant health problems, both physical and emotional, for the affected woman.
  • These include: irregular menses, vasomotor instability (hot flashes and night sweats), atrophy of genitourinary tissue, increased stress, breast tenderness, vaginal dryness, forgetfulness, mood changes, and in certain cases osteoporosis and/or heart disease.