Dataset Information

The COMTval158met polymorphism is associated with symptom relief during exposure-based cognitive-behavioral treatment in panic disorder.

ABSTRACT: Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) represents a learning process leading to symptom relief and resulting in long-term changes in behavior. CBT for panic disorder is based on exposure and exposure-based processes can be studied in the laboratory as extinction of experimentally acquired fear responses. We have recently demonstrated that the ability to extinguish learned fear responses is associated with a functional genetic polymorphism (COMTval158met) in the COMT gene and this study was aimed at transferring the experimental results on the COMTval158met polymorphism on extinction into a clinical setting.We tested a possible effect of the COMTval158met polymorphism on the efficacy of CBT, in particular exposure-based treatment modules, in a sample of 69 panic disorder patients.We present evidence that panic patients with the COMTval158met met/met genotype may profit less from (exposure-based) CBT treatment methods as compared to patients carrying at least one val-allele. No association was found with the 5-HTTLPR/rs25531 genotypes which is presented as additional material.We were thus able to transfer findings on the effect of the COMTval158met polymorphism from an experimental extinction study obtained using healthy subjects to a clinical setting. Furthermore patients carrying a COMT val-allele tend to report more anxiety and more depression symptoms as compared to those with the met/met genotype. Limitations of the study as well as possible clinical implications are discussed.Clinical Trial Registry name: Internet-Versus Group-Administered Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Panic Disorder (IP2). Registration Identification number: NCT00845260, http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00845260.

SUBMITTER: Lonsdorf TB

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3004861 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

The COMTval158met polymorphism is associated with symptom relief during exposure-based cognitive-behavioral treatment in panic disorder.

Lonsdorf Tina B TB Rück Christian C Bergström Jan J Andersson Gerhard G Ohman Arne A Lindefors Nils N Schalling Martin M

BMC psychiatry 20101126

<h4>Background</h4>Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) represents a learning process leading to symptom relief and resulting in long-term changes in behavior. CBT for panic disorder is based on exposure and exposure-based processes can be studied in the laboratory as extinction of experimentally acquired fear responses. We have recently demonstrated that the ability to extinguish learned fear responses is associated with a functional genetic polymorphism (COMTval158met) in the COMT gene and this ...[more]

PMID: 21110842

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundVirtual reality (VR) is as effective a technique as traditional cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and a promising tool for treating panic disorder symptoms because VR exposure can be safer and has better acceptability than in vivo exposure and is more immersive than exposure through imagination. CBT techniques can be delivered more effectively using VR as well. So far, VR has required high-quality devices, but the development of mobile VR technology has improved user availability. At the same time, a well-structured form of VR can be reproduced and used anywhere. This means that VR can be used to provide a self-guided form of treatment and address the high treatment costs of evidence-based therapy and the lack of professional therapists. This study aimed to investigate the potential of self-guided VR as an alternative to high-cost treatment.ObjectiveThe main goal of this study was to offer data about the efficacy of a mobile app-based self-led VR CBT in the treatment of panic disorder.MethodsA total of 54 subjects with panic disorder were enrolled in this study and randomly assigned to either the VR treatment group or waitlist group. The VR treatment was designed to be total 12 sessions for 4 weeks. The VR treatment consists of 4 steps in which patients are gradually exposed to phobic stimuli while learning to cope with panic symptoms in each stage. The effectiveness of treatment was assessed through the Panic Disorder Severity Scale, Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression, Body Sensations Questionnaire, Albany Panic and Phobia Questionnaire, Anxiety Sensitivity Index, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Korean Inventory of Social Avoidance and Distress Scale, Korean Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology, and Perceived Stress Scale. In addition, physiological changes using heart rate variability were evaluated.ResultsIn within-group analyses, the VR treatment group exhibited improvements in panic disorder symptoms, anxiety, and depression after 4 weeks, while the waitlist group did not show any significant improvement. Compared to the waitlist group, the VR treatment group showed significantly greater improvements in the Panic Disorder Severity Scale in both completer analysis and intention-to-treat analysis. Heart rate variability in the VR treatment group showed improvement in normalized high frequency from baseline to postassessment with no significant differences in any outcome measure between groups.ConclusionsThe self-guided, mobile app-based VR intervention was effective in the treatment of panic symptoms and restoring the autonomic nervous system demonstrating the validity of the use of VR for self-guided treatment. VR treatment can be a cost-effective therapeutic approach.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT04985019; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04985019.

Dataset Information

The COMTval158met polymorphism is associated with symptom relief during exposure-based cognitive-behavioral treatment in panic disorder.

Publications

The COMTval158met polymorphism is associated with symptom relief during exposure-based cognitive-behavioral treatment in panic disorder.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets