Does Propranolol Attenuate Inflammatory Responses to a Psychological Stressor?

Summary

This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of propranolol will shed important light on how sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activation influences psychological and inflammatory responses to acute stress. Results from this study will inform both the basic science literature that is attempting to map the physiological mechanisms by which psychological stress may lead to poor mental and physical health, and may also ultimately have therapeutic relevance for individuals who are experiencing high levels of stress that is putting their health at risk. Utilizing a psychopharmacological approach allows for the circumvention of many of the challenges of conducting this research in human populations, and will allow for conclusions regarding causality, given that SNS activation will be experimentally manipulated, rather than relying on correlational measures of SNS activity that are difficult to assess and are not appropriate for asking if SNS activity causes changes in psychology and biology.

Timeline

Start

2016-01-26

Primary completion

2017-10-10

Completion

2017-10-10

Publications

• Background Adler N, Stewart J. The MacArthur Scale of Subjective Social Status. 2007. http://www.macses.ucsf.edu.
• Background Baker DG, Nievergelt CM, O'Connor DT. Biomarkers of PTSD: neuropeptides and immune signaling. Neuropharmacology. 2012 Feb;62(2):663-73. doi: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2011.02.027. Epub 2011 Mar 22.
• Background Baron-Cohen S, Wheelwright S, Hill J, Raste Y, Plumb I. The "Reading the Mind in the Eyes" Test revised version: a study with normal adults, and adults with Asperger syndrome or high-functioning autism. J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2001 Feb;42(2):241-51.
• Background Barrett LF. Feelings or words? Understanding the content in self-report ratings of experienced emotion. J Pers Soc Psychol. 2004 Aug;87(2):266-81. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.87.2.266.
• Background Beck, A.T., Steer, R.A., & Brown, G.K. (1996). Manual for the Beck Depression Inventory-II. San Antonio, TX: Psychological Corporation.
• Background Benschop RJ, Nieuwenhuis EE, Tromp EA, Godaert GL, Ballieux RE, van Doornen LJ. Effects of beta-adrenergic blockade on immunologic and cardiovascular changes induced by mental stress. Circulation. 1994 Feb;89(2):762-9. doi: 10.1161/01.cir.89.2.762.
• Background Blascovich, J. & Mendes, W. B. (2000). Challenge and threat appraisals: The role of affective cues. In Forgas, J. (Ed.). Feeling and thinking: The role of affect in social cognition (pp. 59-82). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
• Background Bierhaus A, Wolf J, Andrassy M, Rohleder N, Humpert PM, Petrov D, Ferstl R, von Eynatten M, Wendt T, Rudofsky G, Joswig M, Morcos M, Schwaninger M, McEwen B, Kirschbaum C, Nawroth PP. A mechanism converting psychosocial stress into mononuclear cell activation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2003 Feb 18;100(4):1920-5. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0438019100. Epub 2003 Feb 10.
• Background Capuron L, Miller AH. Cytokines and psychopathology: lessons from interferon-alpha. Biol Psychiatry. 2004 Dec 1;56(11):819-24. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2004.02.009.
• Background Choy EH, Panayi GS. Cytokine pathways and joint inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis. N Engl J Med. 2001 Mar 22;344(12):907-16. doi: 10.1056/NEJM200103223441207. No abstract available.
• Background Cohen S, Janicki-Deverts D, Miller GE. Psychological stress and disease. JAMA. 2007 Oct 10;298(14):1685-7. doi: 10.1001/jama.298.14.1685. No abstract available.
• Background DellaGioia N, Hannestad J. A critical review of human endotoxin administration as an experimental paradigm of depression. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2010 Jan;34(1):130-43. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2009.07.014. Epub 2009 Aug 8.
• Background DeRijk RH, Boelen A, Tilders FJ, Berkenbosch F. Induction of plasma interleukin-6 by circulating adrenaline in the rat. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 1994;19(2):155-63. doi: 10.1016/0306-4530(94)90005-1.
• Background Kendler KS, Karkowski LM, Prescott CA. Causal relationship between stressful life events and the onset of major depression. Am J Psychiatry. 1999 Jun;156(6):837-41. doi: 10.1176/ajp.156.6.837.
• Background Kiecolt-Glaser JK, Preacher KJ, MacCallum RC, Atkinson C, Malarkey WB, Glaser R. Chronic stress and age-related increases in the proinflammatory cytokine IL-6. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2003 Jul 22;100(15):9090-5. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1531903100. Epub 2003 Jul 2.
• Background Kirschbaum C, Pirke KM, Hellhammer DH. The 'Trier Social Stress Test'--a tool for investigating psychobiological stress responses in a laboratory setting. Neuropsychobiology. 1993;28(1-2):76-81. doi: 10.1159/000119004.
• Background Kleckner IR, Wormwood JB, Simmons WK, Barrett LF, Quigley KS. Methodological recommendations for a heartbeat detection-based measure of interoceptive sensitivity. Psychophysiology. 2015 Nov;52(11):1432-40. doi: 10.1111/psyp.12503. Epub 2015 Aug 12.
• Background Kop WJ, Weissman NJ, Zhu J, Bonsall RW, Doyle M, Stretch MR, Glaes SB, Krantz DS, Gottdiener JS, Tracy RP. Effects of acute mental stress and exercise on inflammatory markers in patients with coronary artery disease and healthy controls. Am J Cardiol. 2008 Mar 15;101(6):767-73. doi: 10.1016/j.amjcard.2007.11.006. Epub 2008 Feb 21.
• Background Miller G, Chen E, Cole SW. Health psychology: developing biologically plausible models linking the social world and physical health. Annu Rev Psychol. 2009;60:501-24. doi: 10.1146/annurev.psych.60.110707.163551.
• Background Nosek, B. A., Banaji, M., & Greenwald, A. G. (2002). Harvesting implicit group attitudes and beliefs from a demonstration web site. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice, 6(1), 101-115.
• Background Pitman RK, Sanders KM, Zusman RM, Healy AR, Cheema F, Lasko NB, Cahill L, Orr SP. Pilot study of secondary prevention of posttraumatic stress disorder with propranolol. Biol Psychiatry. 2002 Jan 15;51(2):189-92. doi: 10.1016/s0006-3223(01)01279-3.
• Background Raison CL, Miller AH. The evolutionary significance of depression in Pathogen Host Defense (PATHOS-D). Mol Psychiatry. 2013 Jan;18(1):15-37. doi: 10.1038/mp.2012.2. Epub 2012 Jan 31.
• Background Rohleder N. Stimulation of systemic low-grade inflammation by psychosocial stress. Psychosom Med. 2014 Apr;76(3):181-9. doi: 10.1097/PSY.0000000000000049.
• Background Steptoe A, Kivimaki M. Stress and cardiovascular disease. Nat Rev Cardiol. 2012 Apr 3;9(6):360-70. doi: 10.1038/nrcardio.2012.45.
• Background Slavich GM, Irwin MR. From stress to inflammation and major depressive disorder: a social signal transduction theory of depression. Psychol Bull. 2014 May;140(3):774-815. doi: 10.1037/a0035302. Epub 2014 Jan 13.
• Background Slavich GM, Way BM, Eisenberger NI, Taylor SE. Neural sensitivity to social rejection is associated with inflammatory responses to social stress. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2010 Aug 17;107(33):14817-22. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1009164107. Epub 2010 Aug 2.
• Background Steptoe A, Hamer M, Chida Y. The effects of acute psychological stress on circulating inflammatory factors in humans: a review and meta-analysis. Brain Behav Immun. 2007 Oct;21(7):901-12. doi: 10.1016/j.bbi.2007.03.011. Epub 2007 May 1.
• Background Emerging Risk Factors Collaboration; Kaptoge S, Di Angelantonio E, Lowe G, Pepys MB, Thompson SG, Collins R, Danesh J. C-reactive protein concentration and risk of coronary heart disease, stroke, and mortality: an individual participant meta-analysis. Lancet. 2010 Jan 9;375(9709):132-40. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(09)61717-7. Epub 2009 Dec 22.
• Background Vaiva G, Ducrocq F, Jezequel K, Averland B, Lestavel P, Brunet A, Marmar CR. Immediate treatment with propranolol decreases posttraumatic stress disorder two months after trauma. Biol Psychiatry. 2003 Nov 1;54(9):947-9. doi: 10.1016/s0006-3223(03)00412-8.
• Background van Gool J, van Vugt H, Helle M, Aarden LA. The relation among stress, adrenalin, interleukin 6 and acute phase proteins in the rat. Clin Immunol Immunopathol. 1990 Nov;57(2):200-10. doi: 10.1016/0090-1229(90)90034-n.
• Background Wittenbrink B, Judd CM, Park B. Evidence for racial prejudice at the implicit level and its relationship with questionnaire measures. J Pers Soc Psychol. 1997 Feb;72(2):262-74. doi: 10.1037//0022-3514.72.2.262.
• MacCormack JK, Armstrong-Carter EL, Gaudier-Diaz MM, Meltzer-Brody S, Sloan EK, Lindquist KA, Muscatell KA. beta-Adrenergic Contributions to Emotion and Physiology During an Acute Psychosocial Stressor. Psychosom Med. 2021 Nov-Dec 01;83(9):959-968. doi: 10.1097/PSY.0000000000001009.

Drugs

Indications

No indication recorded.