MK4MDD

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Study Report

Reference

Citation	Janssen, 2004 PubMed
Full Info	Janssen, J., Hulshoff Pol, H.E., Lampe, I.K., Schnack, H.G., de Leeuw, F.E., Kahn, R.S. and Heeren, T.J. (2004) Hippocampal changes and white matter lesions in early-onset depression. Biol Psychiatry, 56, 825-831.

Study

Hypothesis or Background	Hippocampal volume reduction and increased prevalence of subcortical white matter lesions have been reported in late-life depression. We aimed to examine whether total number of subcortical white matter lesions were associated with reduced hippocampal volume in aged female subjects with early-onset depression (< 45 years) and healthy comparison subjects.
Sample Information	The study included 28 middle-aged and elderly subjects with major depression and 41 age-matched control subjects.
Method Detail	Hippocampal, parahippocampal gyrus, and orbitofrontal cortex volumes were determined using manual tracing methods. White matter lesions were rated from T2-weighted MRI scans using a semiquantitative classification scale.
Method Keywords	magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
Result	After controlling for total brain volume and age, patients had reduced hippocampal volume due to right hippocampal volume decrease (2.84 mL vs. 3.12 mL, F = 16.6, p < .001). Parahippocampal and orbitofrontal volumes did not differ significantly between groups. Multiple linear regression analysis indicated that reduced hippocampal volume did not significantly correlate with total number of subcortical white matter lesions (t = .673, p = .518).
Conclusions	Right hippocampal volume was reduced in aged female early-onset subjects with depression. Total number of subcortical white matter lesions was not associated with the decrease in right hippocampal volume. Our data suggest hippocampal involvement, independent of subcortical white matter lesions, in the neuropathology of early-onset depression.

Relationships reported by Janssen, 2004