This news may provide vital insights about detecting PTSD. A study from University of Minnesota and Minneapolis VA Medical Center claims to have identified a biological marker in the brains of those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Around 74 United States veterans appeared to be caught up in the study, which for the first time seems to impartially detect PTSD by means of magnetoencephalography (MEG), a non-invasive measurement of magnetic fields in the brain. It’s something traditional brain scans like an X-ray, CT, or MRI have failed to do.
The capability to neutrally identify PTSD is claimed to be the first step towards assisting those affected by this acute anxiety disorder. PTSD may frequently arise from war, but may also be a consequence of exposure to any psychologically disturbing event. The disorder may reveal itself in flashbacks, persistent nightmares, anger, or hypervigilance.
With over 90 percent precision, study authors could distinguish PTSD patients from fit control subjects i.e. around 250 individuals with clean mental health by means of the MEG. All behavior and cognition in the brain appears to comprise of networks of nerves incessantly communicating. These interactions apparently take place on a millisecond by millisecond basis. The MEG is said to have 248 sensors that document the interactions in the brain on a millisecond by millisecond basis, much quicker as compared to present techniques of assessment like the functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), which takes seconds to record.
The dimensions documented by the MEG are believed to stand for the mechanism of tens of thousands of brain cells. This recording method may enable researchers to place exclusive biomarkers in the brains of patients with PTSD.
Apostolos Georgopoulos, M.D., Ph.D., in the Medical School and a member of the Brain Sciences Center at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center and University of Minnesota, commented, “These findings document robust differences in brain function between the PTSD and control groups that can be used for differential diagnosis and which possess the potential for assessing and monitoring disease progression and effects of therapy.”
Apart from detecting those with PTSD, the study authors could asses the rigorousness of how much they are suffering, which denotes that the MEG may weigh how badly patients are affected by other brain disorders. It could be probable that the study may be reproduced and administered to a bigger group to guarantee the correctness of its outcomes.
The findings appear in the Journal of Neural Engineering.