Tomorrow’s Health: PTSD blood test, osteoarthritis risk & hypertension brain damage

(WWNY) - There’s a link between blood pressure and dementia, and there’s a blood test for PTSD.

PTSD blood test

A simple blood test could help identify individuals at risk for post-traumatic stress disorder and improve treatment and prevention.

Researchers at Walter Reed and other collaborating institutions looked at more than 1,000 service members and found certain biomarkers in the blood for those suffering with PTSD.

The disorder is currently diagnosed based on symptoms like flashbacks and sleep issues.

Osteoarthritis risk

Patients with eczema or allergic asthma may be at greater risk for osetoarthritis.

A study in the “Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases” found individuals with both conditions were twice as likely to develop the painful join condition.

Doctors say drugs that tamp down the body’s allergic pathways may lessen the risk.

Hypertension brain damage

For the first time, European researchers have identified specific areas of the brain that are damaged by high blood pressure and linked to mental decline.

Doctors hope the findings could help predict which patients with high blood pressure will develop memory loss and dementia faster and treat them with more intensive therapies.

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