PTSD linked to immune system in veterans

CHARLESTON, S.C., July 16 (UPI) -- Preliminary findings of a U.S. study link post-traumatic stress disorder and compromised immune systems in war veterans, researchers say.

Dr. Prakash Nagarkatti, associate dean at the University of South Carolina, says the study shows that tie with an increase in certain types of cells that regulate the immune functions.

"PTSD is a psychiatric condition with long-lasting symptoms that can occur after exposure to extremely stressful life events," Nagarkatti, the lead researcher, says in a statement.

"Patients with PTSD are six times more at risk of committing suicide, and the annual loss of productivity in the United States is estimated to be approximately $3 billion."

Nagarkatti says about 30 percent of Vietnam War veterans developed PTSD during, or at some point after, that war, and more than 35 percent of returned Iraq and Afghanistan veterans have received mental health diagnoses -- the most prevalent being PTSD.

Nagarkatti's preliminary findings showed PTSD patients had altered immune profile with higher proportion of T cells -- white blood cells that trigger inflammation. The increased number of T cells correlated with alterations in small molecules outside the genes, called micro RNAs, that control various functions of genes. These molecules also were significantly altered in PTSD patients when compared with normal individuals, Nagarkatti says.