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PTSD, Immunoglobulins, and Cortisol Changes after the Provision of the EMDR - PRECI to Females Patients with Cancer-Related PTSD Diagnosis

Received: 2 June 2019     Accepted: 29 June 2019     Published: 13 July 2019
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Abstract

EMDR therapy administered to patients with cancer has proven to be effective in the reduction of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and PTSD diagnosis remission. The main objective of this study was to measure the PTSD scores and diagnosis changes before and after the provision of the EMDR-Protocol for Recent Critical Incidents and Ongoing Traumatic Stress (EMDR-PRECI) to female patients with cancer-related PTSD diagnosis. A secondary objective was to observe the immunoglobulins and the cortisol changes pre and post-treatment. Seven female patients with different types of cancer (5 breast, 1 colon, and 1 lymphatic cancer), different cancer treatments (radiation, chemotherapy, radiation, and chemotherapy), and PTSD diagnosis related to their diagnosis and cancer treatment met the inclusion criteria. Participants’ age ranged from 40 to 57 years old (M = 52.28 years old). For PTSD diagnosis and total scores, we used the Global Assessment of Posttraumatic Stress Questionnaire validated for the Mexican population. Biomarkers (cortisol and immunoglobulins) were measured before and after EMDR treatment. For the neuroendocrine measure, we used the cortisol levels in the participant’s blood. For the immunological measure, we used the Nephelometry technique. We measured the changes in the following types of antibodies (immunoglobulins): a) Immunoglobulin A (IgA), b) Immunoglobulin G (IgG), and c) Immunoglobulin M (IgM). EMDR-PRECI was provided by three licensed EMDR clinicians formally trained in the protocol administration. Each EMDR-PRECI session lasted 50-60 minutes. The minimum number of sessions was three and the maximum ten with an average of five. Treatment focused only on the distressing memories related to diagnosis and cancer treatment. No adverse effects were reported during treatment or at six months post-treatment assessment. Results showed a full PTSD diagnosis remission in all participants with significant differences for PTSD scores, t (6) = 2.44, p < .05. These results are in concordance with Carletto et al., study in which all patients treated with EMDR no longer met criteria for PTSD [12]. No significant differences were found for immunoglobulins or cortisol. We believe that the administration of the EMDR-PRECI could be an efficient and effective component of a psychosocial approach to reduce or eliminate cancer-related PTSD symptoms and diagnosis.

Published in American Journal of Applied Psychology (Volume 8, Issue 3)
DOI 10.11648/j.ajap.20190803.12
Page(s) 64-71
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2019. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

"Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, PRECI, Cancer, Cortisol, Immunoglobulins, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) "

References
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    Benito Daniel Estrada, Bernardo de Jesús Angulo, María Elena Navarro, Ignacio Jarero, Omar Sánchez-Armass. (2019). PTSD, Immunoglobulins, and Cortisol Changes after the Provision of the EMDR - PRECI to Females Patients with Cancer-Related PTSD Diagnosis. American Journal of Applied Psychology, 8(3), 64-71. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajap.20190803.12

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    Benito Daniel Estrada; Bernardo de Jesús Angulo; María Elena Navarro; Ignacio Jarero; Omar Sánchez-Armass. PTSD, Immunoglobulins, and Cortisol Changes after the Provision of the EMDR - PRECI to Females Patients with Cancer-Related PTSD Diagnosis. Am. J. Appl. Psychol. 2019, 8(3), 64-71. doi: 10.11648/j.ajap.20190803.12

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    AMA Style

    Benito Daniel Estrada, Bernardo de Jesús Angulo, María Elena Navarro, Ignacio Jarero, Omar Sánchez-Armass. PTSD, Immunoglobulins, and Cortisol Changes after the Provision of the EMDR - PRECI to Females Patients with Cancer-Related PTSD Diagnosis. Am J Appl Psychol. 2019;8(3):64-71. doi: 10.11648/j.ajap.20190803.12

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ajap.20190803.12,
      author = {Benito Daniel Estrada and Bernardo de Jesús Angulo and María Elena Navarro and Ignacio Jarero and Omar Sánchez-Armass},
      title = {PTSD, Immunoglobulins, and Cortisol Changes after the Provision of the EMDR - PRECI to Females Patients with Cancer-Related PTSD Diagnosis},
      journal = {American Journal of Applied Psychology},
      volume = {8},
      number = {3},
      pages = {64-71},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajap.20190803.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajap.20190803.12},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajap.20190803.12},
      abstract = {EMDR therapy administered to patients with cancer has proven to be effective in the reduction of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and PTSD diagnosis remission. The main objective of this study was to measure the PTSD scores and diagnosis changes before and after the provision of the EMDR-Protocol for Recent Critical Incidents and Ongoing Traumatic Stress (EMDR-PRECI) to female patients with cancer-related PTSD diagnosis. A secondary objective was to observe the immunoglobulins and the cortisol changes pre and post-treatment. Seven female patients with different types of cancer (5 breast, 1 colon, and 1 lymphatic cancer), different cancer treatments (radiation, chemotherapy, radiation, and chemotherapy), and PTSD diagnosis related to their diagnosis and cancer treatment met the inclusion criteria. Participants’ age ranged from 40 to 57 years old (M = 52.28 years old). For PTSD diagnosis and total scores, we used the Global Assessment of Posttraumatic Stress Questionnaire validated for the Mexican population. Biomarkers (cortisol and immunoglobulins) were measured before and after EMDR treatment. For the neuroendocrine measure, we used the cortisol levels in the participant’s blood. For the immunological measure, we used the Nephelometry technique. We measured the changes in the following types of antibodies (immunoglobulins): a) Immunoglobulin A (IgA), b) Immunoglobulin G (IgG), and c) Immunoglobulin M (IgM). EMDR-PRECI was provided by three licensed EMDR clinicians formally trained in the protocol administration. Each EMDR-PRECI session lasted 50-60 minutes. The minimum number of sessions was three and the maximum ten with an average of five. Treatment focused only on the distressing memories related to diagnosis and cancer treatment. No adverse effects were reported during treatment or at six months post-treatment assessment. Results showed a full PTSD diagnosis remission in all participants with significant differences for PTSD scores, t (6) = 2.44, p < .05. These results are in concordance with Carletto et al., study in which all patients treated with EMDR no longer met criteria for PTSD [12]. No significant differences were found for immunoglobulins or cortisol. We believe that the administration of the EMDR-PRECI could be an efficient and effective component of a psychosocial approach to reduce or eliminate cancer-related PTSD symptoms and diagnosis.},
     year = {2019}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - PTSD, Immunoglobulins, and Cortisol Changes after the Provision of the EMDR - PRECI to Females Patients with Cancer-Related PTSD Diagnosis
    AU  - Benito Daniel Estrada
    AU  - Bernardo de Jesús Angulo
    AU  - María Elena Navarro
    AU  - Ignacio Jarero
    AU  - Omar Sánchez-Armass
    Y1  - 2019/07/13
    PY  - 2019
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajap.20190803.12
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ajap.20190803.12
    T2  - American Journal of Applied Psychology
    JF  - American Journal of Applied Psychology
    JO  - American Journal of Applied Psychology
    SP  - 64
    EP  - 71
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2328-5672
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajap.20190803.12
    AB  - EMDR therapy administered to patients with cancer has proven to be effective in the reduction of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and PTSD diagnosis remission. The main objective of this study was to measure the PTSD scores and diagnosis changes before and after the provision of the EMDR-Protocol for Recent Critical Incidents and Ongoing Traumatic Stress (EMDR-PRECI) to female patients with cancer-related PTSD diagnosis. A secondary objective was to observe the immunoglobulins and the cortisol changes pre and post-treatment. Seven female patients with different types of cancer (5 breast, 1 colon, and 1 lymphatic cancer), different cancer treatments (radiation, chemotherapy, radiation, and chemotherapy), and PTSD diagnosis related to their diagnosis and cancer treatment met the inclusion criteria. Participants’ age ranged from 40 to 57 years old (M = 52.28 years old). For PTSD diagnosis and total scores, we used the Global Assessment of Posttraumatic Stress Questionnaire validated for the Mexican population. Biomarkers (cortisol and immunoglobulins) were measured before and after EMDR treatment. For the neuroendocrine measure, we used the cortisol levels in the participant’s blood. For the immunological measure, we used the Nephelometry technique. We measured the changes in the following types of antibodies (immunoglobulins): a) Immunoglobulin A (IgA), b) Immunoglobulin G (IgG), and c) Immunoglobulin M (IgM). EMDR-PRECI was provided by three licensed EMDR clinicians formally trained in the protocol administration. Each EMDR-PRECI session lasted 50-60 minutes. The minimum number of sessions was three and the maximum ten with an average of five. Treatment focused only on the distressing memories related to diagnosis and cancer treatment. No adverse effects were reported during treatment or at six months post-treatment assessment. Results showed a full PTSD diagnosis remission in all participants with significant differences for PTSD scores, t (6) = 2.44, p < .05. These results are in concordance with Carletto et al., study in which all patients treated with EMDR no longer met criteria for PTSD [12]. No significant differences were found for immunoglobulins or cortisol. We believe that the administration of the EMDR-PRECI could be an efficient and effective component of a psychosocial approach to reduce or eliminate cancer-related PTSD symptoms and diagnosis.
    VL  - 8
    IS  - 3
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Department of Research, San Luis Potosí Autonomous University, San Luis Potosí, Mexico

  • Department of Research, San Luis Potosí Autonomous University, San Luis Potosí, Mexico

  • Department of Research, San Luis Potosí Autonomous University, San Luis Potosí, Mexico

  • Department of Research, Mexican Association for Mental Health Support in Crisis, Mexico City, Mexico

  • Department of Research, San Luis Potosí Autonomous University, San Luis Potosí, Mexico

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