Back to Search
Start Over
Circulating endocannabinoid concentrations in grieving adults.
- Source :
-
Psychoneuroendocrinology [Psychoneuroendocrinology] 2020 Oct; Vol. 120, pp. 104801. Date of Electronic Publication: 2020 Jul 10. - Publication Year :
- 2020
-
Abstract
- Bereavement is one of the most intense, distressing, and traumatic events an elderly person will experience. The symptom responses to bereavement vary, particularly during the first year. However, the neurobiology underlying the symptom variance in grief is poorly understood. The endocannabinoid signaling (ECS) system is stress-responsive; mounting evidence implicates the central ECS in psychopathology. The current study aimed to investigate the hypothesis that the ECS is abnormal in grief, using circulating eCB concentrations as a biomarker of central ECS. A predominantly older sample of grief participants, within 13 months following the death of a loved one, and healthy comparison (HC) participants were studied. Associations of circulating eCBs with symptom variance in grievers were also examined. A total of 61 (grief: n = 44; HC: n = 17) adults completed cross-sectional clinical assessments and a fasting blood draw. Assessments included the Inventory of Complicated Grief scale; the 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale; and the Hamilton Anxiety scale. Serum eCB concentrations (i.e., N-arachidonoylethanolamine [AEA] and 2-arachidonoylglycerol [2-AG]) were quantified using isotope dilution, liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Relative to HC participants, grievers had significantly elevated serum AEA but similar 2-AG concentrations. In grievers, serum AEA concentrations were positively associated with depressive and anxiety symptoms, but only in those with low grief symptoms. These novel findings indicate that elevated circulating eCB concentrations are found following bereavement. The eCB signaling response varies based on the degree of grief severity. Circulating eCB measures may have the potential to serve as biomarkers of prolonged grief disorder.<br /> (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)
- Subjects :
- Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Anxiety metabolism
Anxiety physiopathology
Arachidonic Acids analysis
Arachidonic Acids blood
Bereavement
Biomarkers blood
Cross-Sectional Studies
Depression metabolism
Depression physiopathology
Endocannabinoids blood
Female
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Polyunsaturated Alkamides analysis
Polyunsaturated Alkamides blood
Endocannabinoids analysis
Grief
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 1873-3360
- Volume :
- 120
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- Psychoneuroendocrinology
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 32682172
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2020.104801