We determined morning NPY concentrations in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from 10 male subjects with chronic combat-related PTSD and from 13 healthy men. Neuropeptide Y-like immunoreactivity was measured by enzyme immunoassay (EIA).
As compared with the normal comparison subjects, PTSD patients had significantly lower concentrations of CSF neuropeptide Y (mean CSF NPY was 360.0 ± 17.7 pg/mL in control subjects but only 233.6 ± 28.7 pg/mL in PTSD patients [p = .0008]). Adjustments for age and body mass index (BMI) still revealed a highly significant reduction in CSF NPY in the PTSD group (p = .003).
Men with combat-related PTSD have low CSF concentrations of the putative resiliency hormone NPY, possibly related to the disorder or to extreme stress exposure per se.