According to the PTSD Alliance, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD, affects more than 13 million Americans. Although this diagnosis is relatively new, having been first introduced to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual in 1980, it has received a significant amount of media and research attention, largely because of the growing number of veterans who suffer from it each year. Recent research has focused on the role of genes in the development of PTSD. For instance, research suggests that heredity accounts for about 30% of the differences in response to trauma (LaMotte, 2015).
The most promising of these findings is a recent study published by the Journal of Molecular Psychiatry that compared blood samples in Marines from before and after they were deployed to combat zones. This study found specific biomarkers in the blood of marines who were ultimately diagnosed with PTSD, bringing with it a slew of questions and possibility. Lamotte (2015) quotes Dr. Dewleen Baker of the University of California-San Diego as suggesting that one day, “we’ll draw the blood and have a way to do this very rapidly and start to tease apart who is a little more at risk and who is a little more resilient for PTSD. It’s exciting.” Although she notes that more research and replication is necessary, this research may be the beginning of new effective treatments and preventative measures.