Aortic & peripheral vascular disease
Cortico-limbic interactions and carotid atherosclerotic burden during chronic stress exposure
Authors' conclusion
In this study of limited size, participants with PTSD did not have higher atherosclerotic inflammation than controls. Notably, impaired cortico-limbic interactions (higher amygdala relative to vmPFC activity or disruption of their intercommunication) associated with carotid atherosclerotic burden.
Study context
- Population
- Individuals with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), trauma-exposed controls and healthy controls; median age 37 years, 54% female
- Exposure
- PTSD vs trauma-exposed controls without PTSD and healthy controls
- PTSDn = Twenty-seven
- Trauma-exposed controlsn = 45reference
- Healthy controlsn = 22reference
- Outcome
- Atherosclerotic inflammation (18F-FDG PET TBR max) of aorta and carotids
Methodological details18F-FDG PET/MRI
- 18F-FDG PET/MRI
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), spleen activity, aorta atherosclerotic burden (normalized wall index)
- Higher with PTSD
Stress-associated neural network activity (SNA) and uncinate fasciculus axonal integrity (AI)
- PTSD: higher SNA and lower AI
Carotid atherosclerotic burden (SD of wall thickness), whole cohort
- Associated positively with SNA and negatively with AI, independent of Framingham risk score
Original publication
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