The impact of posttraumatic stress disorder on the quality of life: a systematic review.

Aims: To review the relevant literature on Quality of Life (QOL) impairment in PTSD and the impact of treatment interventions on QOL. Methods: A database search from 1980-2012 was conducted using Medline, PsycINFO, and the PILOTS database using the keywords: “PTSD”, “posttraumatic stress disorder”, “stress disorders”, “quality of life”, “QOL”, and “health-related quality of life.” Two reviewers applied pre-defined selection criteria independently and reached a consensus on the inclusion of 37 studies that focused on QOL in PTSD. The impact of PTSD interventions on QOL was analyzed. Results: The findings revealed that QOL is gravely impaired in PTSD populations, such as veterans, refugees, survivors of terrorist attacks, natural disaster survivors, rescue personnel, and survivors of violence. Research shows that PTSD is an independent predictor of QOL impairment and that various psychotherapeutic and pharmacological treatment modalities might potentially improve QOL in PTSD. However, their ability to improve QOL up to community norm levels is unclear. Conclusion: QOL is seriously compromised in patients suffering from PTSD. It would be important to include QOL as an outcome measure in PTSD clinical and research work in order to identify the PTSD treatments that best improve QOL in different populations.

Anti-asthmatic and Anti-allergic effects of Thymoquinone on Airway-Induced Hypersensitivity in Experimental Animals.

Nigella sativa L. has been used in folk medicine for treatment of many diseases. The oil and seed constituents, in particular thymoquinone (TQ), have shown promising medicinal properties in the treatment and prevention of various diseases. The present study aims to investigate the potential effect of TQ on airway-induced hypersensitivity. Ovalbumin (OVA) sensitization and challenge in guinea pig tracheal muscle preparation were used in order to investigate the anti-asthmatic activity of TQ. To study the effect of TQ on acute lung injury, lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced lung injury method was used. In addition, rat peritoneal mast cells (RPMCs) were collected to investigate the histamine release from the mast cells. Furthermore, to study the anti-allergic activity of TQ, the systemic anaphylactic shock technique induced by compound 48/80 was performed. Pretreatment with TQ (3 mg/kg, i.p.) for 5 days prior to ovalbumin sensitization showed a marked decrease in the response of the tracheal spirals to acetylcholine and histamine, as spasmogens in a cumulative dose response–curve. TQ (8mg/kg, i.p.) prevented most of the pathological detrimental changes that occurred in response to the endotoxin LPS as the inflammatory cells infiltration, lipid peroxidation (LP), glutathione depletion (GSH), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF- α) and interlukin-1 beta (IL-1β) levels in both boronchoalevolar lavage fluid (BALF) and lung tissue homogenates. Sensitization of rats induced a significant increase in the histamine release from RPMCs which is inhibited by pretreatment with TQ (8 mg/kg, i.p.). Similarly, pretreatment of mice with TQ (50 and 100 mg/kg), 1hr prior to injection of compound 48/80 (8mg/kg, i.p.) significantly inhibited the % of mortality of mice following the systemic anaphylactic reaction. Considering the anti-asthmatic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and anti-allergic activities of TQ reported in this study, one can conclude that TQ could be of therapeutic potentials in treating various diseases associated with airway-induced hypersensitivity.