355 | id == 355
355 | category_id == 22
355 | category_order == 19
355 | category_name == Trauma
355 | category_color == #C47AC0
355 | slug == IL6-PTSD
355 | title == Can Brain Inflammation Worsen PTSD? (IL6)
355 | meta_description == IL-6 is an important inflammatory cytokine which may increase the severity of PTSD. Do you have the risk allele? Find out here.
355 | summary == <p><strong>IL-6 is an important inflammatory cytokine which may increase the severity of PTSD symptoms. Do you have the risk allele? Find out here.</strong></p>
355 | overall_score_text == Your PTSD Score (based on IL6)
355 | image == https://sd-selfdecode-assets-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/blog/background/IL6-PTSD.jpg
355 | author_id == 1
355 | author_name == Jasmine Foster
355 | author_title == BSc, BEd
355 | author_order == 36
355 | author_photo == https://sd-selfdecode-assets-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/blog/author-photo/Jasmine.jpg
355 | author_intro == <p><strong>Jasmine received her BS from McGill University and her BEd from Vancouver Island University.</strong></p>    <p>Jasmine loves helping people understand their brains and bodies, a passion that grew out of her dual background in biology and education. From the chem lab to the classroom, everyone has the right to learn and make informed decisions about their health.</p>
355 | reviewer == None
355 | medical_reviewer_id == 11
355 | medical_reviewer_name == Puya Yazdi
355 | medical_reviewer_title == MD
355 | publish_date == 2020
355 | publish_date == 9
355 | publish_date == 25
355 | avg_rating == 5.0
355 | tags_id == 112
355 | tags_name == Anxiety
355 | tags_id == 253
355 | tags_name == IL-6
355 | tags_id == 203
355 | tags_name == IL6 Gene
355 | tags_id == 24
355 | tags_name == Inflammation
355 | tags_id == 744
355 | tags_name == Neuroinflammation
355 | tags_id == 6
355 | tags_name == PTSD
355 | tags_id == 50
355 | tags_name == Stress
355 | permissions_favorite == False
355 | permissions_rate == False
355 | content_article == <h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">Summary</span></h2> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">IL6</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> encodes the IL-6 inflammatory cytokine. Variants in </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">IL6</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> may increase inflammation in the brain and thereby increase the severity of PTSD symptoms. Lifestyle, diet, and supplement modifications may counteract the effects of these variants by blocking IL-6 production and reducing inflammation in the brain.</span></p> <h2><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">IL6 </span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">and Post-Traumatic Stress</span></h2> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">IL6 </span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">gene encodes </span><a href="http://selfhacked.com/blog/interleukin-6/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">interleukin-6</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> (IL-6), a cytokine that has either proinflammatory or anti-inflammatory properties, depending on the circumstances and the tissue that secretes it. It has complicated mechanisms of effect and interacts with many other cytokines and inflammatory signals [</span><a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24986424"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2278876/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">IL-6 is typically increased when the body is diseased or </span><a href="https://selfhacked.com/blog/63-factors-raising-stress-cortisol-level-backed-science/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">stressed</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. Conditions associated with increased IL-6 include obesity, chronic stress, too little </span><a href="https://selfhacked.com/blog/health-benefits-sleep/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">sleep</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, overeating sugar, smoking, excess alcohol, and overly strenuous exercise [</span><a href="http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00011-009-0060-4"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="http://www.pnas.org/content/100/15/9090.full.pdf"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1476-511x-9-125.pdf"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21525252"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1424390312001263"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15074399"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1600-0838.2011.01372.x/abstract"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">One variant in the </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">IL6</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> gene has been associated with increased severity of </span><a href="https://selfhacked.com/blog/ptsd-causes-treatments/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">PTSD</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> among those with the condition. This variant, rs1800795, is well-known to increase IL-6 production and overall inflammation [</span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31291232/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">People with PTSD tend to have increased inflammation in their whole bodies, and especially in their brains. It may simply be that more IL-6 in the brain leads to worse symptoms [</span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5843493/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p><span style="background-color: #e8ebfc; border-left: 2px solid #4569fa; display: block; padding: 20px;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">IL6 </span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">gene encodes an inflammatory cytokine that may increase the severity of PTSD symptoms.</span></span></p> <h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">Your </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">IL6 </span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Results for PTSD</span></h2> <p>*5760422650057695*</p> <p><strong>IL6 </strong><a href="https://selfdecode.com/snp/rs1800795/"><strong>rs1800795</strong></a></p> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">&lsquo;G&rsquo; = Not associated with PTSD symptom severity</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">&lsquo;C&rsquo; = Associated with increased severity of PTSD symptoms</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The &lsquo;C&rsquo; allele may increase IL-6 production and thereby increase inflammation in the brain [</span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31291232/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">PTSD patients with the &lsquo;CC&rsquo; genotype experience worse symptoms than those with at least one &lsquo;G&rsquo; allele [</span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31291232/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></li> </ul> <p>*5261733119141998*</p> <h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">Recommendations for Reducing PTSD Severity</span></h2> <p>*5906368027699502*</p> <h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">Exercise</span></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Moderate </span><a href="https://selfhacked.com/blog/top-14-proven-health-benefits-exercise-references-mechanisms/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">exercise</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> lowered the levels of IL-6 and other inflammatory markers in healthy people of all ages and those with conditions such as obesity or type 2 diabetes [</span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6497785/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28771081"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6940473/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24355625"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">People who </span><a href="https://selfhacked.com/blog/top-14-proven-health-benefits-exercise-references-mechanisms/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">exercise</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> regularly experience lower levels of neuroticism, </span><a href="https://selfhacked.com/blog/natural-treatments-anxiety/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">anxiety</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, and </span><a href="https://selfhacked.com/blog/natural-treatments-depression/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">depression</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, while lack of regular physical activity has been associated with an increased risk of anxiety [</span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16439008"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-015-1843-x"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Aerobic exercise may be most effective at reducing anxiety in both healthy people and those diagnosed with disorders such as generalized anxiety, panic disorder, and PTSD [</span><a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/16506073.2015.1028094"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11148895"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28088704"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Physical exercise interventions based on aerobic exercise, resistance training, or both improved PTSD in multiple trials. While aerobic exercise was more effective at improving anxiety and overall psychological distress, resistance training also helped with specific PTSD symptoms, distress tolerance, and </span><a href="https://selfhacked.com/blog/sleep-neurophysiology/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">sleep</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> quality [</span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29049901/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29076530/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29145076/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15869081/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24911173/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25443996/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31743507/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Researchers generally recognize exercise as a valuable potential tool for controlling and managing PTSD. In addition to physical fitness keeping inflammation down, exercise may actually change the way the brain works and reduce the activity of the parts responsible for panic [</span><a href="https://www.intechopen.com/books/psychology-of-health-biopsychosocial-approach/the-role-of-exercise-in-reducing-ptsd-and-negative-emotional-states"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6437073/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400; background-color: #e8ebfc; border-left: 2px solid #4569fa; display: block; padding: 20px;">Physically fit people tend to have lower overall IL-6 and reduced inflammation in their whole bodies, not just their brains. Exercise is also recognized as a valuable tool for the management of PTSD.</span></p> <h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">Soy</span></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Genistein, an isoflavone found in soybeans, reduced the release of IL-6 from multiple types of cells in a lab setting [</span><a href="https://www.spandidos-publications.com/10.3892/ijmm.2014.1956"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29693152/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A fermented soy product normalized steroidal hormones in war veterans with treatment-resistant PTSD, leading to improved mental and physical wellness [</span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25436688/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In rats with PTSD, genistein reduced anxiety and prevented chronic stress-induced memory impairment [</span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28600997/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32267780/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400; background-color: #e8ebfc; border-left: 2px solid #4569fa; display: block; padding: 20px;">The soy isoflavone genistein reduces the release of IL-6 from cells and helped regulate certain aspects of PTSD in a clinical trial.</span></p> <h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">Ginkgo biloba</span></h3> <p><a href="https://content.selfdecode.com/blog/ginkgo-biloba/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Ginkgo biloba</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> extracts decreased IL-6 in a clinical trial of patients with age-related neurological disorders. This result supported an earlier finding that ginkgo extract reduced inflammation in nerve cells in a lab setting [</span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3271515/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0944711318301090"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Ginkgo biloba has been reported to reduce anxiety, depression, and dementia in human and animal studies [</span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16808927"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26092515"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9551771"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14575433"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In one clinical trial of patients with PTSD, a ginkgo supplement improved symptoms better than the placebo when used alongside conventional psychiatric treatment [</span><a href="https://ijps.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijps/article/view/438"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400; background-color: #e8ebfc; border-left: 2px solid #4569fa; display: block; padding: 20px;">Ginkgo biloba decreased IL-6 and reduced symptoms of PTSD in clinical trials.</span></p>
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355 | content_learn_more_5261733119141998_text == SHOULD NOT APPEAR
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rsIDs = rs1800795
rsStatus = rs1800795,IL6,chr7,22727026,C,G,T,,6,27,HET
