Published in:
01-08-2014 | Short Communication
Fatty acid ethanolamide levels are altered in borderline personality and complex posttraumatic stress disorders
Authors:
Carola Schaefer, Frank Enning, Juliane K. Mueller, J. Malte Bumb, Cathrin Rohleder, Thorsten M. Odorfer, Joachim Klosterkötter, Martin Hellmich, Dagmar Koethe, Christian Schmahl, Martin Bohus, F. Markus Leweke
Published in:
European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience
|
Issue 5/2014
Login to get access
Abstract
Borderline personality (BPD) and complex posttraumatic stress disorders (PTSD) are both powerfully associated with the experience of interpersonal violence during childhood and adolescence. The disorders frequently co-occur and often result in pervasive problems in, e.g., emotion regulation and altered pain perception, where the endocannabinoid system is deeply involved. We hypothesize an endocannabinoid role in both disorders. We investigated serum levels of the endocannabinoids anandamide and 2-arachidonoylglycerol and related fatty acid ethanolamides (FAEs) in BPD, PTSD, and controls. Significant alterations were found for both endocannabinoids in BPD and for the FAE oleoylethanolamide in PTSD suggesting a respective link to both disorders.