Posted by Dave1 on April 1, 2003, at 8:47:58
In reply to Re: To Dave and pfinstegg » denise528, posted by Pfinstegg on April 1, 2003, at 7:53:23
Hi,
FYI,
I posted the cortisol question on my OCD website and this was the response from one of the doctors.
"
There are somewhat conflicting reports on the effects of stress hormones and
chronic stress on the brain. It was recently thought that stress can
actually shrink the hippocampus in patients with PTSD, but i think more
recently studies (using twins - one exposed to severe stress and one not)
indicate that those with a small hippocampus prior to the stressful event
were more likely to develop PTSD.I suppose the bottom line on this is not in. however, i think there is
evidence that chronic stress is not healthy for the body overall.
"Pfinstegg - your info. was very knowledgeable and helpful. You seem to have a very advanced understanding of this brain stuff. I was premed in college but still don't have the understanding you have.
Regarding PTSD, I remember hearing about a study they were doing on car accident patients where they would give beta blockers to prevent PTSD by somehow using the beta blockers to block the accident memories from being imprinted in the accident patients minds. I thought that was interesting.
Dave
poster:Dave1
thread:213824
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030329/msgs/215009.html