According to Medical News Today, Ya-Ping Tang, MD, PhD, of New Orleans has found that a specific gene is critical to the adult-onset PTSD. In particular, the action of this specific gene occurs during adolescent exposure to trauma. This specific transgene has been identified as CCKR-2.
Not only is the original trauma significant to PTSD, but in most cases, a second stressor or "re-victimization" is essential to the development of this disorder. In studies done with mice, original trauma and a second stressor were not enough on their own to cause PTSD. However, with the introduction of CCKR-2, PTSD-like behavior was finally observed.
This identification of CCKR-2 and its significance in the development of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder have finally provided fresh hope for treatment of those who suffer from this life-altering condition. Now that CCKR-2 is a known cofactor in the brain that coincides with adolescent trauma, it is possible for scientists to prevent and even cure PTSD by developing a way to block the reception of the neurotransmitter CCKR-2. By doing so, generations could be spared the intense agony that is known as PTSD.
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