Anxiety and Stress – Translational Perspectives

Abstract

Disease sequelae related to stress and trauma as well as anxiety disorders represent an ever-growing social problem and cause psychological distress affecting professional life, lifestyle and quality of life. As these disorders may trigger several chronic pathologies and are among the most common causes of work absence, they have direct social consequences affecting not only the patients themselves but also society at large. The World Association for Stress Related and Anxiety Disorders (WASAD) has set itself the goal to promote basic and clinical research on stress-related and anxiety disorders and to make interdisciplinary findings available for all stakeholders. WASAD held its first International Congress in 2017, providing a platform for clinicians, basic researchers and health care professionals to interact, discuss treatment strategies, and identify new targets for drug development. The second International Congress will follow in October 2019 (www.wasad 2019.org). WASAD has chosen the Journal of Neural Transmission as its publication organ, and we present in this special issue a collection of research articles and reviews that we hope may serve to contribute to the understanding of stress and anxiety related disorders, their underlying mechanisms and their treatment options. In this special issue, the role of pre-, periand postnatal risk factors and stressful live events are elucidated for disorders such as depression, bipolar disorders, ADHD, anxiety disorders and dementia. The biochemical as well as molecular-biological and -genetic basis of stress-related and anxiety disorders are presented. Neuroimaging studies give an overview of stress induction in the MR scanner and an update of such technology in generalized anxiety disorders. Two articles focus on current aspects of resilience research. We hope you find these articles and their topics interesting!