ArticlePsychoneuroendocrinology2015
Altered inflammatory activity associated with reduced hippocampal volume and more severe posttraumatic stress symptoms in Gulf War veterans.
Article in Psychoneuroendocrinology, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 48 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
48 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 87 citations in OpenAlex.
- Metabolic and Inflammatory Response in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): A Systematic Review on Peripheral Neuroimmune Biomarkers.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Pooled it
- Effects of Dopaminergic Therapy with Levodopa (L-DOPA) on Fear and Anxiety-Related Circuits and Symptoms in Patients with Depression and Higher Inflammation.Brain, behavior, and immunity · 2026Trial
- Associations of post-traumatic stress disorder and metabolic syndrome with accelerated brain aging in South African adults: A case-control study.Neurobiology of stress · 2026Article
- Gulf War Illness: Neurological Impacts, Pathophysiological Insights, and Therapeutic Prospects.Molecular neurobiology · 2026Review
- Ketogenic therapy as a potential novel treatment approach for PTSD: an integrative review and proposed mechanistic model.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Review
- MRI signature of brain age underlying post-traumatic stress disorder in World Trade Center responders.Translational psychiatry · 2025Article
- Validated metabolomic biomarkers in psychiatric disorders: a narrative review.Molecular medicine (Cambridge, Mass.) · 2025Review
- Sex differences in the microglial response to stress and chronic alcohol exposure in mice.Biology of sex differences · 2025Article
- The Moderating Effect of Resilience on the Relationship Between the Relevance to Victims With Post-Trauma Psychiatric Symptoms of Community Residents After Seoul Halloween Crowd Crush.Psychiatry investigation · 2024Article
- Inflammation in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Dysregulation or Recalibration?Current neuropharmacology · 2024Article
- Associations of TNF-RII rs1061622 With Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Their Interplays on Serum Lipids Levels in Adolescents.Psychiatry investigation · 2023Article
- Repeated Social Defeat Stress Induces an Inflammatory Gut Milieu by Altering the Mucosal Barrier Integrity and Gut Microbiota Homeostasis.Biological psychiatry global open science · 2023Article
- Inflammatory Markers and Brain Volume in Patients with Post-traumatic Stress Disorder.Clinical psychopharmacology and neuroscience : the official scientific journal of the Korean College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2023Article
- Biomarkers of Neurodegeneration in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: An Integrative Review.Biomedicines · 2023Review
- Chemical exposures and suspected impact on Gulf War Veterans.Military Medical Research · 2023Article
- Serum IL-6, sAXL, and YKL-40 as systemic correlates of reduced brain structure and function in Alzheimer's disease: results from the DELCODE study.Alzheimer's research & therapy · 2023Article
- Review
- The role of the immune system in posttraumatic stress disorder.Translational psychiatry · 2022Review
- Association Between Inflammatory Biomarkers and Mental Health Symptoms in Middle Eastern Refugees in the US.Cureus · 2022Article
- Inflammation-driven brain and gut barrier dysfunction in stress and mood disorders.The European journal of neuroscience · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundInflammation may reduce hippocampal volume by blocking neurogenesis and promoting neurodegeneration. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been linked with both elevated inflammation and reduced hippocampal volume. However, few studies have examined associations between inflammatory markers and hippocampal volume, and none have examined these associations in the context of PTSD.
methodsWe measured levels of the inflammatory markers interleukin-6 (IL-6) and soluble receptor II for tumor necrosis factor (sTNF-RII) as well as hippocampal volume in 246 Gulf War veterans with and without current and past PTSD as assessed with the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS). Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays were used to measure inflammatory markers, and 1.5Tesla magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and Freesurfer version 4.5 were used to quantify hippocampal volume. Hierarchical linear regression and analysis of covariance models were used to examine if hippocampal volume and PTSD status would be associated with elevated levels of IL-6 and sTNF-RII.
resultsIncreased sTNF-RII, but not IL-6, was significantly associated with reduced hippocampal volume (β=-0.14, p=0.01). The relationship between sTNF-RII and hippocampal volume was independent of potential confounds and covariates, including PTSD status. Although we observed no PTSD diagnosis-related differences in either IL-6 or sTNF-RII, higher PTSD severity was associated with significantly increased sTNF-RII (β=0.24, p=0.04) and reduced IL-6 levels (β=-0.24, p=0.04).
conclusionsOur results indicate that specific inflammatory proteins may be associated with brain structure and function as indexed by hippocampal volume and PTSD symptoms.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.