Red Blood Cell and Platelet Indices: A Potential Biomarker for Panic Disorder

Changes in mean platelet volume and hematologic indices in patients with panic disorder due to oxidative stress

“…The present study found a decreased trend of RBC levels in patients with PD, statistically not significant, which is probably due to increased oxidative stress and could be justified by increased RDW in these patients, as elevated RDW has been reported in depression patients (Asoglu et al, ; Bhad, ; Ransing, Patil, & Grigo, ). On the other hand, these findings were accompanied with a significant decrease in MCHC, compatible with other studies, which suggests inflammation in patients with PD, as a possible cause of elevated RDW and PDW (Huang & Hu, ; McClung & Karl, ; Vogelzangs, Beekman, de Jonge, & Penninx, ).…”

Biological and Clinical Markers in Panic Disorder

“…As previously reported, markers might be categorized as susceptibility/risk markers; diagnostic, prognostic, and predictive markers [6-8]. Given that the biomarkers illustrated were found in PD patients and not in controls [9,10,16,17,20,25], they might be considered susceptibility and/or diagnostic biomarkers, however longitudinal studies are warranted to confirm this. Also the HPA axis dysregulation and the heart rate variability might be considered prognostic biomarkers given that higher cortisol secretion was found to predict poorer long-term outcome in PD patients at 2–4 year follow-up (p<0.003) [39,40] and lower HRV in PD patients might increase vulnerability to cardiovascular diseases [41].…”

“…Recent findings [25] observed increased platelet distribution width (PDW), red cell distribution width (RDW), and mean platelet volume (MPV) in PD patients if compared to healthy controls. These results emphasized the role of blood cells and peripheral blood stem cells as possible biomarkers of PD [25-27] in accordance with the theory of the inflammatory origin of PD [26].…”

“…A further hurdle is that some biomarkers, as for example structural changes in the amygdala and/or hippocampus, although they showed acceptable reliability [9,10], can be used in clinical practice rarely for practical and economic reasons [45]. To facilitate the use of biomarkers on a broad-based scale, we would need simple and cost-effective biomarkers [2,45] such as for instance urine or saliva cortisol, heart rate variability, blood cells, peripheral blood stem cells, or respiratory pattern [9,10,16,17,20,25]. However, although the biomarkers mentioned for PD showed high sensibility in distinguishing PD from the healthy condition, they did not show enough specificity in distinguishing PD from other psychiatric disorders [9,10].…”