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Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a prevalent anxiety disorder marked by behavioral, physiologic, and hormonal alterations. The etiology of PTSD is unknown, although exposure to a traumatic event constitutes a necessary, but not sufficient, factor. Serotonergic dysfunction has been implicated in PTSD. The present study examined the possible association between the serotonin-transporter-linked polymorphic region (SERTPR) and PTSD. The genotype and allele frequencies of the SERTPR were analyzed in 100 PTSD patients and 197 unrelated healthy controls using a case-control design. The frequency of the s/s genotype was significantly higher in PTSD patients than in normal controls. These findings suggest that the SERTPR s/s genotype is one of the genetic factors for the susceptibility to PTSD. Further investigations are required into the influence of gene polymorphisms on the biological mechanisms of PTSD, its clinical expression, and its response to treatment.

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Sleep disturbance after stroke was found to have negative effects on functional recovery, especially balance improvement in moderate stroke group.

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It has been suggested that the characteristics of alexithymia result from deficits in frontal lobe functioning, and the prefrontal cortex is particularly dependent on the catechol O-methyltransferase (COMT) pathway. We investigated the relationship between COMT Val108/158Met, serotonin transporter coding sequence (5-HT transporter gene-linked polymorphic region; 5-HTTLPR) polymorphisms, and alexithymia.The study sample comprised 109 students at the Korea University. All participants were tested using the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20). They were genotyped for COMT Val108/158Met and 5-HTTLPR polymorphisms. Genotyping was analyzed using polymerase chain reaction. Subjects with Val/Val genotype had significantly higher TAS-20 scores than those with Met/Met or Met/Val genotypes. However, there was no significant relationship between the 5-HTTLPR genotype and TAS-20 scores. This indicates a possible association between the COMT Val108/158Met gene polymorphism and alexithymia.

Milnacipran, like fluoxetine, was found to be effective and well tolerated for the treatment of major depression in this population of depressed Korean patients. Principal limitations of the study were its open design, its small sample size and its relatively short duration.