Structural and Functional Neuroimaging of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Cognitive Impairment in World Trade Center Responders

Details

• Personal Author:
  Bromet E ; Clouston S ; Deri Y ; Gandy S ; Horton M ; Lucchini RG ; Luft BJ ; Rechtman E ; Sano M ; Tang C
• Description:
  Exposure to psychological trauma and fine particulate matter may increase the risk of dementia in traumatized populations including military veterans and World Trade Center responders. WTC responders were exposed to neurotoxicants including metals, PCBs, dioxins, and PAHs. Ultrafine particles can reach the brain through the olfactory pathway causing oxidative stress and chronic inflammation leading to neurodegeneration. In the Stony Brook WTCHP cohort, 20% of responders developed PTSD since 9/11. In 2,400 responders screened with the MoCA, the rate of CI (scores <20) was 2.6%, and the association with PTSD was highly statistically significant. The purpose of this study was to assess brain atrophy and dysfunction among responders with CI and PTSD. Similar to the growing body of research on veterans with PTSD, there may be unique structural patterns in the brain associated with CI in WTC responders. In vivo functional MRI and, in a pilot study, PET/MRI imaging were used to examine these patterns. Our analyses have indicated several unique brain characteristic patterns of CI among WTC responders compared to other signatures, such as AD. Diffuse brain atrophy, reduced cortical thickness and hippocampal sub-field volume analysis suggesting that reductions in specific subregions are associated with duration of WTC exposure. Taken together these findings support the hypothesis that WTC exposure to neurotoxicants is causing long term neurodegenerative impacts. The neuro-phenotype of this impairment is different from the AD, and inconsistent with signatures developed for known neurodegenerative diseases. Our work supports the view that WTC-CI may be a WTC-specific encephalopathy with an unknown etiology characterized by widespread cortical atrophy. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Dust Emergency Responders Nervous System Occupational Health Particulate Matter Safety September 11 Terrorist Attacks
• Keywords:
  Disaster Response Emergency Responders Magnetic Resonance Imaging MRI Neurophysiological Effects Neurotoxic Effects Oxidative Stress Particulate Dust Particulates Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Psychological Responses PTSD World Trade Center WTC

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• Series:
  Grant Final Reports
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Final Cooperative Agreement Report
• Place as Subject:
  New York ; OSHA Region 2
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  OEP - Office of Extramural Programs
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-25
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20065630
• Citation:
  Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, U01-OH-011314, 2021 Sep; :1-25
• Contact Point Address:
  Roberto G Lucchini, MD, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (ISMMS), 1 Gustave L. Levy Pl. New York, NY 10029-6574
• Email:
  rlucchin@fiu.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2021
• Performing Organization:
  Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20160901
• Source Full Name:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• End Date:
  20200831
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:872724d119b1306122085e0b425604ee6d6ca6f5cb1455149efd55c4126b117749699097d458c691f5c8a14958ff0cb42d3b2383967bfa57d0a6d434b97f60cc
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/219115/cdc_219115_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.15 MB ]