Browsing by Author "Anderson, Elizabeth Hallen"
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Item Cardiovascular Risk Indicators and Health-Related Quality of Life in Women Veterans with PTSD(2018-07-26) Anderson, Elizabeth Hallen; Surís, Alina; Fu, Qi; Pai, Anushka; Shivakumar, Geetha; Smith, JuliaPosttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is one of the most prevalent disorders among women veterans treated at the Veterans Health Administration and is associated with a wide range of negative physical health outcomes, including the development of cardiovascular disease. In addition, PTSD has a negative impact on an individual's subjective perception of the health-related quality of his or her own life. The majority of studies examining the complex relationship between PTSD and health have utilized primarily male populations. To better understand the impact of PTSD on laboratory-based and self-reported measures of health in women veterans, this study used multivariate analyses of variance to compare cardiovascular risk indicators (resting heart rate, blood pressure, and muscle sympathetic nerve activity) and physical and mental health-related quality of life (SF-36) in a sample of women veterans with PTSD to a sample of nonveteran women without PTSD. In addition, hierarchical multiple regression analyses were used to examine the relationship between PTSD symptom criteria groups and sympathetic nervous system activity indicators and physical and mental health-related quality of life. Results revealed no significant differences between women veterans with PTSD and healthy controls in regards to cardiovascular risk indicators, however women veterans with PTSD reported significantly worse physical and mental health related quality of life. Contrary to expectations, the hyperarousal symptom criteria group was not found to be a significant and unique predictor of sympathetic nervous system activity indicators nor health related quality of life. However, clinician-rated non-hyperarousal PTSD symptom severity was found to be a significant and unique predictor of physical health-related quality of life. Further analysis demonstrated that, of the four PTSD symptom criteria groups, only clinician-rated re-experiencing symptom severity approached being a significant predictor of worse physical health-related quality of life. Since re-experiencing symptoms appear to be an important mechanism by which women veterans make judgments about their physical health, clinically targeting such symptoms in PTSD interventions may result in improved health-related quality of life. Given the relatively young state of research in women veterans with PTSD, it is important to confirm and build on previous research findings for this unique population.Item The Effect of Rapamycin Paired with Traumatic Memory Activation on Cognitive Performance in Veterans Diagnosed with PTSD(2012-05-18) Anderson, Elizabeth Hallen; Surís, Alina; North, Carol S.; Powell, Craig M.BACKGROUND: Many individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) experience cognitive impairment in addition to the characteristic psychological symptoms. Animal studies have shown that rapamycin, a protein synthesis inhibitor that targets the protein kinase mTOR, can prevent the reconsolidation of a reactivated fear memory, thereby reducing its emotional strength at a neurochemical level. The aim of the current study was to determine if pairing rapamycin with traumatic memory reactivation in male veterans with combat-related PTSD would lead to an improvement in cognitive performance, based on scores from the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) at baseline and 1-month follow-up. SUBJECTS: A sample of 54 male veterans with combat-related PTSD receiving healthcare at a large southwestern VA medical center participated in the study. METHODS: In a double-blind, placebo-controlled study, male veterans with combatrelated PTSD were administered either a single dose of rapamycin or placebo, followed by a script-driven memory reactivation task. Measures included the RBANS, Clinician Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS), and the Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology (QIDS). RESULTS: A repeated measures ANOVA was conducted to assess the impact of two different interventions (rapamycin, placebo) on participants' scores on the RBANS, across two time periods (baseline, one-month follow-up). The main effect comparing the two type of interventions revealed no significant differences in the effectiveness of the two interventions in the entire sample; F (1,48) = .01, p = .921, partial eta squared < .001. When the sample was limited to participants who demonstrated a clinically significant reduction (≥ 20 points) in their CAPS score, a repeated measures ANOVA revealed a significant interaction between time and treatment intervention; Wilks Lambda = .44, F (1, 13) = 16.74, p = .001, partial eta squared = .563. Pairwise comparisons showed a significant improvement between baseline and one-month follow-up on the RBANS for participants in the placebo group, mean difference = 10.00, p = .002. DISCUSSION: Based on these results, a single rapamycin treatment does not appear to be detrimental or beneficial to cognitive performance. Furthermore, a clinically significant reduction in PTSD symptoms due to rapamycin is not associated with an improvement in cognitive performance.