Post-traumatic stress disorder affects fucose-α(1–2)-glycans in the human brain: preliminary findings of neuro deregulation using in vivo two-dimensional neuro MR spectroscopy

摘要

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is triggered by experiencing terrifying event(s) for which there is currently no objective test for a definitive diagnosis. We report a pilot study where two-dimensional (2D) neuro magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), collected at 3?T in a clinical scanner with a 64-channel head coil, identifies neuro deregulation in the PTSD cohort. The control subjects (n?=?10) were compared with PTSD participants with minimal co-morbidities (n?=?10). The 2D MRS identified statistically significant increases in the total spectral region containing both free substrate fucose and fucosylated glycans of 31% (P?=?0.0013), two of multiple fucosylated glycans (Fuc IV and VI) were elevated by 48% (P?=?0.002), and 41% (P?=?0.02), respectively, imidazole was increased by 12% (P?=?0.002), and lipid saturation was increased by 12.5% (P?=?0.009). This is the first evidence of fucosylated glycans, reported in animals to be involved in learning and memory, to be affected in humans with PTSD.