Eating Blueberries May Help Treat Those with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Blueberry-enriched diet was found to modulate neurotransmitter levels among those affected by PTSD. It also has potential to be used in therapeutic treatments.

Blueberry consumption may be effective for people struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), states study. Ebenezer et al. have previously demonstrated that SSRIs increase levels of serotonin (5-HT) and the neurotransmitter norepinephrine (NE) and that the increased NE might reduce the effectiveness of SSRI therapy.

Researchers at Louisiana State University supplemented some of the rats with a blueberry-enriched (2 percent) diet and others with a control diet. A third control group did not have PTSD and received a standard diet (without blueberries).

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) - Causes, Symptoms, Risk Factors, Complications, Dignosis, Treatment
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), is a mental condition triggered by a traumatic event. PTSD treatment includes pyschotherapy, behavior therapy and medications.

They found that PTSD rats who did not receive blueberries demonstrated a predictable increase in NE and 5-HT when compared with the control group. However, the PTSD rats that received blueberries showed a beneficial increase in 5-HT with no effect on NE levels, suggesting that blueberries could effectively modulate neurotransmitters in PTSD.

These findings indicated that non-pharmacological approaches might modulate neurotransmitters in PTSD. Further studies to understand the molecular mechanism of neuro-protection by BB could provide a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of PTSD.

Source-ANI

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