Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is characterized by the occurrence of a traumatic event that is beyond the normal range\nof human experience. The future of PTSD treatment may specifically target the molecular mechanisms of PTSD. In the US,\napproximately 20% of adults report taking herbal products to treat medical illnesses. L-theanine is the amino acid in green tea\nprimarily responsible for relaxation effects. No studies have evaluated the potential therapeutic properties of herbal medications on\ngene expression in PTSD.We evaluated gene expression in PTSD-induced changes in the amygdala and hippocampus of Sprague-\nDawley rats. The rats were assigned to PTSD-stressed and nonstressed groups that received either saline, midazolam, L-theanine,\nor L-theanine + midazolam. Amygdala and hippocampus tissue samples were analyzed for changes in gene expression. One-way\nANOVA was used to detect significant difference between groups in the amygdala and hippocampus. Of 88 genes examined, 17 had\na large effect size greater than 0.138. Of these, 3 genes in the hippocampus and 5 genes in the amygdala were considered significant\n(???? < 0.05) between the groups. RT-PCR analysis revealed significant changes between groups in several genes implicated in a\nvariety of disorders ranging from PTSD, anxiety, mood disorders, and substance dependence.
Loading....