Immune and Endocrine Function in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

January 20, 2009 updated by: US Department of Veterans Affairs
This is a study investigating immune function and relationships to the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis in Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) compared to controls without PTSD. The study involves 99 adult veterans and civilian subjects over a 3 year period. The study involves measuring immune and neuroendocrine parameters from blood samples obtained before and after a dexamethasone suppression test. The aim of the study is to determine whether immune alterations exist in PTSD and whether the immune-HPA axis interactions in this disorder are different from non-PTSD subjects with the future aim of studying whether immune dysregulation in PTSD may be linked to the increased risk for medical and psychiatric comorbidity in this population.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Detailed Description

The subjects undergo a thorough medical (physical and blood/urine tests) and psychiatric evaluation to determine eligibility after signed informed consent is obtained. If eligible, the subject will complete questionnaires and undergo structured clinical interviews with a study psychiatrist. The subject will then undergo a 2-day testing period during which time, blood is drawn each morning at 8 am, with the subject taking 0.5 mg of dexamethasone (a synthetic steroid) at 11 pm prior to the second day of blood testing. About 80 ml of blood will be drawn on each morning. The blood collected will then be assayed for cortisol dexamethasone, lymphocyte glucocorticoid receptor levels; cytokine levels in plasma and lipopolysaccharide stimulated and unstimulated whole blood (IL-2, sIL-2R, IL-6, sIL-6R, and IL-10); lymphocyte subsets (T helper and suppressor, B, and Natural Killer cell numbers), and antigen stimulation responses to tetanus and candida. In addition, blood from the first day of testing will undergo ex vivo challenge with dexamethasone at varying concentrations to determine differential cytokine sensitivities to steroid exposure in subjects.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Observational

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • New York
      • Bronx, New York, United States, 10468
        • Bronx VAMC

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

  • Subjects with DSM-IV criteria of PTSD and control subjects without any Axis I diagnosis, both groups of subjects are not on any psychotropic medications or medications that could interfere with the biological results, and do not have unstabilized medical conditions or neuroendocrine or immune disorders;
  • Do not have comorbid psychosis, bipolar disorder, or substance use disorders;
  • Have the capacity to give written informed consent;
  • Do not have abnormalities on medical evaluation/physical examination;
  • Are not a danger to self or others;
  • Women subjects are not pregnant or lactacting, and use a safe form of contraception with a negative pregnancy test.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
US Department of Veterans Affairs

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Rachel Yehuda, Ph.D.
  • Lloyd Mayer, M.D.
  • Esther Sternberg, M.D.
  • Bruce McEwen, Ph.D.

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
October 1, 1999

Study Completion

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
September 1, 2002

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
December 30, 2004

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
December 30, 2004

First Posted (Estimate)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
December 31, 2004

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
January 21, 2009

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
January 20, 2009

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
December 1, 2004

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • CADE-RCD3

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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