U.S. Marines (Photo : Reuters/ Omar Sobhani)
Blood tests of servicemen prove they are genetically prone to post-traumatic stress disorder. A team of international researchers indicates blood specimens of Marines stationed in war zones show genetic markers linked to PTSD, which over 13 million Americans have, according to PTSD Alliance.
According to the lead investigator from the University of California-San Diego, Dr. Dewleen Baker, "It's pretty exciting that we willl need to extract blood from these men and have a way to do it quickly and discover who is a bit more resilient and who is a bit more at risk for PTSD."
PTSD happens to victims of rape, child abuse, torture, natural disasters, aerial, train and vehicular mishaps. According to PTSD Alliance, millions of Americans have PTSD with billions of societal costs.
To know if affected by the symptom, one experiences:
- Flashbacks or bad dreams with excessive fear leading to uncontrollable chills, shaking and heart palpitations.
- Emotionally detached from family members and usual routine as it may trigger bad memories of the event.
- Stressed out with angry outbursts and difficulty in sleeping
As expected, military men are mostly hit. The Department of Veterans Affairs gages 30% of Vietnam vets experience PTSD. 20% among soldiers sent recently to Afghanistan and Iraq have PTSD.
So why this severe emotional trauma on soldiers?
As published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry, a recent study compared blood specimens from 188 Marines taken before and after they were deployed to war zones. Another group of 96 Marines was also examined to validate these results.
"Under this experimental design, we can identify differences between U.S. Marines with PTSD and without. We go back in time to see if Marines who eventually acquired PTSD showed evidence that it will emerge, says Christopher Woelk, the study's co-senior author. "In their vein, we are able to start labeling results as being causal in nature."
Blood specimens of Marines with PTSD showed biomarkers related with gene networks inclining inherent immune function - the body's first line of defense - and interferon, a protein responsible for kicking the immune system into action.
This does not mean servicemen off to war will likely have PTSD. It is more on how their immune system responds to trauma.
