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January 01 2015

Friday Factoids: Study Identifies Two Genes that Boost the Risk for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

How much do you know about Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder? By now, it would appear that the general population has heard of this disorder and are aware of what it is at least on a fairly rudimentary level.

PTSD currently affects approximately 7 % of the population of the United States and has become a pressing health issue for veterans of war. Have you ever wondered about such variables as the threshold for what will cause PTSD? For instance, two people could experience the same motor vehicle collision, yet only one of them may develop PTSD symptoms. Why is that? Researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) have recently linked two gene variants to PTSD. This suggests that hereditary factors can influence an individual’s risk of developing PTSD. These new findings could provide a biologically based approach for diagnosing and treating PTSD more effectively.

Dr. Armen Goenjian and his team discovered two genes, COMT and TPH-2, which are linked to PTSD. These two genes play important roles in brain function. COMT is an enzyme that degrades dopamine, a neurotransmitter that assists in regulating thinking, mood, attention, and behavior, as well as controlling the brain’s pleasure and reward centers. TPH-2 controls the production of serotonin, a brain hormone that regulates mood, alertness, and sleep–all areas that are disrupted by PTSD. Dr. Goenjian and his team found significant associations between variants of COMT and TPH-2 with symptoms of PTSD. This may be indicative that these genes contribute to both the onset and the persistence of PTSD.

The results yielded from the study suggest that individuals that carry the genetic variants of COMT and TPH-2 may be at a higher risk of developing PTSD after a traumatic event. Now that scientists have begun to develop new ways of assessing risk factors for PTSD, what benefits do you believe can come from it? Would examination of these two genes play a role in recruitment criteria for the armed forces? Let me know what you think.

References
Goenijian, A., Noble, E., Stenberg, A., Walling, D., Stepanyan, S., Dandekar, S., and Bailey, J. (2015). Association of COMT and TPH-2 genes with DSM-5 based PTSD symptoms. Journal of Affective Disorders, 172.

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Health Sciences. (2015, January 9). Study identifies two genes that boost risk for post-traumatic stress disorder. ScienceDaily. Retrieved January 12, 2015 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/01/150109123321.htm

Faisal Roberts, MA
WKPIC Doctoral Intern

January 01 2015

Friday Factoid: Optimism is Heart Healthy!

By now most people are aware, at least to some degree, of things that are good for your heart. Exercise? Check. Oatmeal? Done. Salmon? Affirmative. Managing Stress effectively? Why of course! Now let’s throw in a healthy dose of optimism for good measure! Results yielded from a new study conducted by the University of Illinois are suggestive that optimism can lead to improved heart health.

Led by Dr. Rosalba Hernandez, a professor of social work, the study examined more than 5,100 adults between the ages of 45 and 84. The construct of cardiovascular health was calculated by assessing seven dimensions: blood pressure, body mass index, fasting plasma glucose and serum cholesterol levels, dietary intake, physical activity, and tobacco use. These are the current metrics used by to American Heart Association to assess heath health. Each of these seven dimensions were rated either zero, one, or two (denoting poor, intermediate, and ideal scores, respectively) with higher scores corresponding with healthier heart states. To evaluate level of optimism, the participants completed surveys measuring mental health, levels of optimism, and physical health. In their results, a correlation was found between the participants’ total health score and their levels of optimism.

So it looks like we now have another reason to maintain a healthy, optimistic outlook on life!

Nauert, R. (2015). Optimism is heart healthy. Psych Central. Retrieved on January 12, 2015.

Faisal Roberts, M.A.
WKPIC Doctoral Intern

January 01 2015

Friday Factoid: Origin of New Year’s Resolutions

We are now a little past one week into the new year of 2015. Did you make a New Year’s Resolution? If so, how well have you done with keeping it? I have never personally made one, for reasons that I’m unsure of. I didn’t decide to never make them; I just haven’t for whatever reason. Thinking about all of this made me wonder about the origin of making resolutions. Where did this custom start? When beginning my search, I expected a myriad of contradicting answers with the specific origin being evasive and somewhat ambiguous. However, from the little research that I’ve conducted, the answer appears generally consistent amongst a few different sources.

Before New Year’s was celebrated in January, it was celebrated in what we now know as the month of March by the Babylonians nearly 4,000 years ago. This time period was chosen as the start of the New Year as it was the beginning of spring time when the leaves come back and the crops grow, hence why it was a logical choice for them (Blaire, 2006). The Babylonians made promises to their gods at the beginning of the year, with promises to repay their debts and return borrowed objects. The Romans changed New Year’s to January in 153 B.C. (Blaire, 2006), named after one of their gods, Janus, the two faced god that could look backward at the old year while simultaneously looking forward at the new year (Petro, 2015). As opposed to returning objects and repaying debts, their resolutions generally regarding treating each other better. Today, New Year’s Resolutions can encompass a wide variety of areas, but with personal improvement being the center (Blaire, 2006; Petro, 2015). Common resolutions include those pertaining to fitness, finances, altruism, kindness, charity, volunteer work, career goals, reading habits, learning new skills, giving up vices, etc.

What do you think of New Year’s Resolutions? Is it a great way to kick off the new year with a positive mentality? A pointless endeavor that leads people to feel bad when they invariably fail on their goals? Or somewhere in the middle? Either way, belated happy new years from all of us at WKPIC!

Blaire, Gary, R. (2006). The History of New Year’s Resolutions. As retrieved from: http://ezinearticles.com/?The-History-of-New-Years-Resolutions&id=245213

Petro, Bill. (2015). History of New Year’s Resolutions: Where Did They Begin?
As retrieved from: http://billpetro.com/history-of-new-years-resolutions

Faisal Roberts, MA
WKPIC Doctoral Intern

January 01 2015

Friday Factoid Catch-Up! Diabetes in Midlife Linked to Cognitive Decline 20 Years Later

New research from the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health reveals informative and quite honestly startling data regarding the correlation between diabetes in midlife and cognitive decline in older age. There is a strong correlation between the declination of cognitive processes such as memory, word recall, and executive functioning and the progression of dementia. Results yielded from the research suggest that diabetes tends to age the mind five years faster than the normative effects of aging. For example a 60-year-old with diabetes experiences a similar amount of cognitive decline as a 65-year-old without diabetes.

This study, led by Dr. Elizabeth Selvin, is thought to be the longest running study of its kind as it followed a cross-section of adults as they aged. For the study, Dr. Selvin used data from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study (ARIC), which began in 1987 and contains a participant pool of 15, 792 adults from four different states. The participants were evaluated (including a cognitive evaluation) four times, approximately three years apart, beginning in 1987. The participants were then seen a fifth and final time between 2011 and 2013. The researchers found that the participants with poorly controlled diabetes experienced cognitive decline that was 19 % worse than expected for their age group.

This research emphasizes the importance of a healthy lifestyle as it can potentially prevent diabetes and, now evidently, dementia. The cost of dementia nationwide was estimated to be approximately 159 billion dollars in 2010. With the fact that people are living longer than ever before, the cost of dementia is estimated to increase by an additional 80 billion dollars within the next 25 years. Dr. Selvin states that even if we could delay dementia for a few years, it could have a huge impact on the population in terms of both quality of life and healthcare costs. With America experiencing its highest obesity rates for both children and adults, it does not bode well regarding the estimated future prevalence of dementia. However, if this information is proliferated and embraced, it may have the potential to motivate people into adopting a healthier lifestyle to avoid the tragic fate of dementia.

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. (2014, December 1). Diabetes in midlife linked to significant cognitive decline 20 years later. ScienceDaily. Retrieved January 5, 2015.

Faisal Roberts, MA
WKPIC Doctoral Intern

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Friday Factoids: Study Identifies Two Genes that Boost the Risk for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Friday Factoid: Optimism is Heart Healthy!

Friday Factoid: Origin of New Year’s Resolutions

Friday Factoid Catch-Up! Diabetes in Midlife Linked to Cognitive Decline 20 Years Later

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