The Science of PTS-ID™

Our response to trauma is visibly coded within our DNA

Post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, can affect anyone. One out of 11 Americans suffers from PTSD, with higher ratios recorded in veterans, soldiers, & first responders. PTSD is on the rise in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, especially for healthcare workers & others on the front lines.

People living with PTSD experience longer & more extreme stress reactions to trauma than people who do not have PTSD.

Through groundbreaking genomic research, the Polaris team revealed that our likelihood of developing PTSD, like many health conditions, is encoded within our DNA — specifically, in three key PTSD biomarkers: FKBP5, STAT5B, & NFIA.

For some people, these biomarkers are “expressed” differently, leading to an extreme stress response & the onset of PTSD symptoms after a traumatic event.

Imagine you experienced a life-threatening event & have been struggling with intrusive & upsetting thoughts, difficulty sleeping, & constant agitation since.

If you decide to be assessed for PTSD somewhere that does not use the Polaris PTS-ID™ risk assessment tool, you will be asked to complete a subjective & sensitive survey. Whether or not you are officially diagnosed with PTSD & allowed to access treatment for it will then be up to a clinician’s subjective interpretation of your answers.

This is the standard for behavioral healthcare. Imagine, though, if you suspected you had cancer & your doctor simply handed you a short survey to “prove” that you had it.

What is the likelihood that you would receive the right diagnosis without data-driven testing?

PTS-ID™ is the first & only evidence-based, objective risk assessment tool for PTSD. A genomic assay performed on a simple blood sample, PTS-ID™ reports on gene expression levels for the three PTSD biomarkers, FKBP5, STAT5B, & NFIA, whose link to PTSD risk has been validated in hundreds of cases & controls.

Developed from decades of research & analysis on blood samples from 9/11 first responders, sexual assault survivors, & Holocaust survivors & their descendants, PTS-ID™ helps clinicians confidently & quickly assess a person’s risk of experiencing the stress dysregulation associated with PTSD.

PTS-ID™ results are combined with behavioral risk survey data for a comprehensive behavioral profile. Results can also be integrated with multi-omic data & analyzed with the Polaris TruNorth™ Platform to give clinicians a wholepicture view of a person’s health, enabling even more targeted & effective treatment.

Enables earlier identification & treatment of PTSD, preventing suffering & other harmful coping behaviors

Screens & risk-stratifies people who have experienced trauma, & identifies who needs immediate intervention

Provides objective, biological markers for PTSD, compared to current subjective tools, & reduces patient & clinician bias

Will establish a biological basis for PTSD, contributing to decreasing stigma of PTSD & seeking treatment for it

Will improve diagnostic timing & accuracy, compared to current subjective & self-reporting tools

Partnership with Illumina Accelerator allows access to leading next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology