DNA Methylation Changes Following Narrative Exposure Therapy in a Randomized Controlled Trial with Female Former Child Soldiers

Overview

Journal Sci Rep

Specialty Science

Date 2021 Sep 17

PMID 34531495

Citations 9

Authors

Samuel Carleial

Daniel Natt

Eva Unternahrer

Thomas Elbert

Katy Robjant

Sarah Wilker

Vanja Vukojevic

Iris-Tatjana Kolassa

Anja C Zeller

Anke Koebach

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

The aftermath of traumatization lives on in the neural and epigenetic traces creating a momentum of affliction in the psychological and social realm. Can psychotherapy reorganise these memories through changes in DNA methylation signatures? Using a randomised controlled parallel group design, we examined methylome-wide changes in saliva samples of 84 female former child soldiers from Eastern DR Congo before and six months after Narrative Exposure Therapy. Treatment predicted differentially methylated positions (DMPs) related to ALCAM, RIPOR2, AFAP1 and MOCOS. In addition, treatment associations overlapped at gene level with baseline clinical and social outcomes. Treatment related DMPs are involved in memory formation-the key agent in trauma focused treatments-and enriched for molecular pathways commonly affected by trauma related disorders. Results were partially replicated in an independent sample of 53 female former child soldiers from Northern Uganda. Our results suggest a molecular impact of psychological treatment in women with war-related childhood trauma.Trial registration: Addressing Heightened Levels of Aggression in Traumatized Offenders With Psychotherapeutic Means (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02992561, 14/12/2016).

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