Military-related posttraumatic stress disorder and mindfulness meditation: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

PURPOSE: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a significant global mental health concern, especially in the military. This study aims to estimate the efficacy of mindfulness meditation in the treatment of military-related PTSD, by synthesizing evidences from randomized controlled trials. METHODS: Five electronic databases (Pubmed, EBSCO Medline, Embase, PsychINFO and Cochrane Library) were searched for randomized controlled trials focusing on the treatment effect of mindfulness meditation on military-related PTSD. The selection of eligible studies was based on identical inclusion and exclusion criteria. Information about study characteristics, participant characteristics, intervention details, PTSD outcomes, as well as potential adverse effects was extracted from the included studies. Risk of bias of all the included studies was critically assessed using the Cochrane Collaboration's tool. R Statistical software was performed for data analysis. RESULTS: A total of 1902 records were initially identified and screened. After duplicates removal and title & abstract review, finally, 19 articles in English language with 1326 participants were included through strict inclusion and exclusion criteria. The results revealed that mindfulness meditation had a significantly larger effect on alleviating military-related PTSD symptoms compared with control conditions, such as treatment as usual, present-centered group therapy and PTSD health education (standardized mean difference (SMD) = -0.33; 95% CI [-0.45, -0.21]; p < 0.0001). Mindfulness interventions with different control conditions (active or non-active control, SMD = -0.33, 95% CI [-0.46, -0.19]; SMD = -0.49, 95% CI [-0.88, -0.10], respectively), formats of delivery (group-based or individual-based, SMD = -0.30, 95% CI [-0.42, -0.17], SMD = -0.49, 95% CI [-0.90, -0.08], respectively) and intervention durations (short-term or standard duration, SMD = -0.27, 95% CI [-0.46, -0.08], SMD = -0.40, 95% CI [-0.58, -0.21], respectively) were equally effective in improving military-related PTSD symptoms. CONCLUSION: Findings from this meta-analysis consolidate the efficacy and feasibility of mindfulness meditation in the treatment of military-related PTSD. Further evidence with higher quality and more rigorous design is needed in the future.

PTSD: Past, present and future implications for China.

There has been a long history since human beings began to realize the existence of post-traumatic symptoms. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a diagnostic category adopted in 1980 in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-Ⅲ, described typical clusters of psychiatric symptoms occurring after traumatic events. Abundant researches have helped deepen the understanding of PTSD in terms of epidemiological features, biological mechanisms, and treatment options. The prevalence of PTSD in general population ranged from 6.4% to 7.8% and was significantly higher among groups who underwent major public traumatic events. There has been a long way in the studies of animal models and genetic characteristics of PTSD. However, the high comorbidity with other stress-related psychiatric disorders and complexity in the pathogenesis of PTSD hindered the effort to find specific biological targets for PTSD. Neuroimage was widely used to elucidate the underlying neurophysiological mechanisms of PTSD. Functional MRI studies have showed that PTSD was linked to medial prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex and sub-cortical structures like amygdala and hippocampus, and to explore the functional connectivity among these brain areas which might reveal the possible neurobiological mechanism related to PTSD symptoms. For now, cognitive behavior therapy-based psychotherapy, including combination with adjunctive medication, showed evident treatment effects on PTSD. The emergence of more effective PTSD pharmacotherapies awaits novel biomarkers from further fundamental research. Several natural disasters and emergencies have inevitably increased the possibility of suffering from PTSD in the last two decades, making it critical to strengthen PTSD research in China. To boost PTSD study in China, the following suggestions might be helpful: (1) establishing a national psychological trauma recover project, and (2) exploring the mechanisms of PTSD with joint effort and strengthening the indigenized treatment of PTSD.

Effects of antidepressants on P2X7 receptors.

Antidepressants including paroxetine, fluoxetine and desipramine are commonly used for treating depression. P2×7 receptors are member of the P2X family. Recent studies indicate that these receptors may constitute a novel potential target for the treatment of depression. In the present study, we examined the action of these antidepressants on cloned rat P2×7 receptors that were stably expressed in human embryonic kidney (HEK) 293 cells by using the whole-cell patch-clamp technique, and found that paroxetine at a dose of 10µM could significantly reduce the inward currents evoked by the P2×7 receptors agonist BzATP by pre-incubation for 6-12 but not by acute application (10µM) or pre-incubation for 2-6h at a dose of 1µM, 3µM or 10µM paroxetine. Neither fluoxetine nor desipramine had significant effects on currents evoked by BzATP either applied acutely or by pre-incubation at various concentrations. These results suggest that the sensitivity of rat P2×7 receptors to antidepressants is different, which may represent an unknown mechanism by which these drugs exert their therapeutic effects and side effects.