OBJECTIVE To determine current rates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depressive disorder, and separation anxiety disorder (SAD) among children 1 1/2 years after the 1988 earthquake in Armenia; to determine current rates of comorbid PTSD and depressive disorder; and to assess the contribution of exposure, gender, loss of family members, and loss of residence. METHOD Two hundred eighte...

Patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) exhibit an increased state of inflammation. Various animal models for PTSD have shown some of the same immune imbalances as have been shown in human subjects with PTSD, and some of these studies are discussed in this review. However, animal studies can only indirectly implicate immune involvement in PTSD in humans. This review of mainly studies...

BACKGROUND It is thought that the decision rule for a positive diagnosis of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) may be too restrictive, leaving too many victims of a trauma out in the cold for care, compensation, etc. Several authors have proposed the concept of Subthreshold or Partial PTSD (PPTSD). This concept considers that a subject may present a number of symptoms below threshold for crit...

Controversy has haunted the diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) ever since its appearance in the third edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III; American Psychiatric Association [APA], 1980). At the outset, psychiatrists opposed to the inclusion of the diagnosis in DSM-III argued that the problems of trauma-exposed people were already covered b...

OBJECTIVE Acute myocardial infarction (MI) is a life-threatening condition, leading to immediate fear and distress in many patients. Approximately 18% of patients develop posttraumatic stress disorder in the aftermath of MI. Trait resilience has shown to be a protective factor for the development of posttraumatic stress disorder. However, whether this buffering effect has already an impact on p...

C in patterns of attention allocation following traumatic exposure have been implicated in the development and maintenance of posttraumatic stress symptoms (1-4). Attentional allocation is defined, in part, by absorption and dissociation, constructs which require further empirical investigation vis-à-vis posttraumatic stress (5). Dissociation is characterized as a process involving “disruption ...

The need for critical care and the experience of being treated in the intensive care unit may be a traumatic event with long-lasting psychological consequences for the patient and family. Research has identified patients who are at risk of developing posttraumatic stress disorder after an intensive care unit stay. This article reviews pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic strategies, including the...

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric disorder that develops after a psychological trauma usually caused by a situation perceived as deeply threatening to a person's life or integrity. Complex neurobiological changes triggered by such a traumatic and stressful experience may explain a wide range of PTSD symptoms and provide the rationale for psychopharmacological treatment. Sele...

BACKGROUND The author prospectively examined the power of persistent dissociation in predicting acute and chronic posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms (PTSD) in psychologists, psychotherapists, crisis intervention teams and clergymen after a disaster. METHODS 135 psychosocial disaster workers were assessed (6 weeks and 6 months after the catastrophe) with the Acute Stress Disorder Scale (AS...