2008 Woodie Awards
UI prof works on panic-attack test
Danette Kapler - The Daily Iowan
Issue date: 9/25/07 Section: Metro
- Page 1 of 1
An episode of intense fear accompanied by a racing heart, sweaty palms, and feelings of disassociation - it's an experience that afflicts more than 9 million Americans, according to the American Journal of Medical Genetics.
But now the UI is developing a blood test to help diagnose, treat, and prevent panic disorder.
"Panic disorder is a syndrome, not a disease," said Robert Philibert, a UI associate professor of psychiatry.
The syndrome is caused by a variety of genetic and environmental factors, which can include something as simple as drinking coffee.
Philibert is developing a blood test that could lead to better treatment for people with the disorder. The test involves measuring the patterns in white blood cell gene expression.
Kathleen Staley, an assistant director at the UI Counseling Service, said she tries to ascertain what causes a patient to panic and then develop a treatment.
"It depends on the severity of the disorder," she said. "Depending on the severity, we may need to prescribe medication, but there are ways to manage panic."
Attacks can be decreased through exercise, changing negative thoughts, deep breathing, and eating foods with less sugar and more complex carbohydrates.
The attacks are not only triggered by environmental factors, Staley noted.
"There is a strong biological genetic component," she said. "Some people are more prone to panic attacks, and there can be a strong genetic basis for this."
Philibert said the blood test is unique in that it can detect the genetic components. The test can not only establish if a person suffers from panic disorder but also if the situation is more serious than panic.
"With diagnostic testing, we can increase certainty that it's not there and distinguishing panic disorder from other threatening diseases," Philibert said.
People often go to the emergency room thinking they are having a heart attack when they are really having a panic attack, which usually isn't fatal, he said.
E-mail DI reporter Danette Kapler at:
danette-kapler@uiowa.edu
But now the UI is developing a blood test to help diagnose, treat, and prevent panic disorder.
"Panic disorder is a syndrome, not a disease," said Robert Philibert, a UI associate professor of psychiatry.
The syndrome is caused by a variety of genetic and environmental factors, which can include something as simple as drinking coffee.
Philibert is developing a blood test that could lead to better treatment for people with the disorder. The test involves measuring the patterns in white blood cell gene expression.
Kathleen Staley, an assistant director at the UI Counseling Service, said she tries to ascertain what causes a patient to panic and then develop a treatment.
"It depends on the severity of the disorder," she said. "Depending on the severity, we may need to prescribe medication, but there are ways to manage panic."
Attacks can be decreased through exercise, changing negative thoughts, deep breathing, and eating foods with less sugar and more complex carbohydrates.
The attacks are not only triggered by environmental factors, Staley noted.
"There is a strong biological genetic component," she said. "Some people are more prone to panic attacks, and there can be a strong genetic basis for this."
Philibert said the blood test is unique in that it can detect the genetic components. The test can not only establish if a person suffers from panic disorder but also if the situation is more serious than panic.
"With diagnostic testing, we can increase certainty that it's not there and distinguishing panic disorder from other threatening diseases," Philibert said.
People often go to the emergency room thinking they are having a heart attack when they are really having a panic attack, which usually isn't fatal, he said.
E-mail DI reporter Danette Kapler at:
danette-kapler@uiowa.edu
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