Psychiatry Investig.
2019 Jan;16(1):27-36. 10.30773/pi.2018.07.26.
Biological and Clinical Markers in Panic Disorder
- Affiliations
-
- 1Department of Health Sciences, University of Florence, Florence, Italy. fiammetta.cosci@unifi.it
- 2Maastricht University Medical Center, Department of Psychiatry & Psychology, School for Mental Health & Neuroscience, Maastricht, the Netherlands.
- KMID: 2438156
- DOI: http://doi.org/10.30773/pi.2018.07.26
Abstract
OBJECTIVE
Classifying mental disorders on the basis of objective makers might clarify their aetiology, help in making the diagnosis, identify "at risk" individuals, determine the severity of mental illness, and predict the course of the disorder. This study aims to review biological and clinical markers of panic disorder (PD).
METHODS
A computerized search was carried out in PubMed and Science Direct using the key words: "marker/biomarker/clinical marker/neurobiology/staging" combined using Boolean AND operator with "panic." In addition, the reference lists from existing reviews and from the articles retrieved were inspected. Only English language papers published in peer-reviewed journals were included.
RESULTS
Structural changes in the amygdala, hippocampus, cerebral blood level in the left occipital cortex, serotonin 5-TH and noradrenergic systems activation, aberrant respiratory regulation, hearth rate variability, blood cells and peripheral blood stem cells, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis dysregulation were identified as potential candidate biomarkers of PD. Staging was identified as clinical marker of PD. According to the staging model, PD is described as follows: prodromal phase (stage 1); acute phase (stage 2); panic attacks (stage 3); chronic phase (stage 4).
CONCLUSION
The clinical utility, sensitivity, specificity, and the predictive value of biomarkers for PD is still questionable. The staging model of PD might be a valid susceptibility, diagnostic, prognostic, and predictive marker of PD. A possible longitudinal model of biological and clinical markers of PD is proposed.
