[Volumetric brain findings in late depression. A study with quantified magnetic resonance tomography].
A number of observations including clinical manifestation, course, outcome, and family history, support the view that patients presenting with a major depression occurring first in late life should be treated as a nosological subgroup. In this study quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to investigate volumes of different brain structures in 19 patients with late onset major depression (age of onset > 50) and 13 age matched controls. 3-D MRI sequences were acquired using a Siemens 1.5T scanner. Whole brain volume, CSF volume, volume of the frontal and temporal lobes and the volume of the amygdala-hippocampus complex were assessed using the software NMRWin. Compared to the controls, depressed patients showed a significantly lower whole brain volume and a significantly higher CSF volume, whereas volumes of the frontal and temporal lobes as well as the amygdala-hippocampus complex volumes were not significantly decreased. In addition, depressed patients exhibited a higher ventricle-brain ratio suggesting a higher degree of central atrophy compared to healthy individuals. Our results indicate that cerebral changes involving subcortical structures are of relevance in the pathogenesis of late-onset depression. Defining the aetiology of these lesions may be important for the development of preventive treatment of depression in the elderly.
Pantel
J
J
Sektion Gerontopsychiatrie, Psychiatrische Universitätsklinik, Heidelberg.
Schröder
J
J
Essig
M
M
Schad
L R
LR
Popp
D
D
Eysenbach
K
K
Jauss
M
M
Knopp
M V
MV
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001284:Atrophy; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D001931:Brain Mapping / Q000295:instrumentation; D003704:Dementia / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000295:instrumentation*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000295:instrumentation*; D008297:Male; D008432:Mathematical Computing; D012984:Software
Hirnvolumetrische Befunde bei der Spätdepression. Eine Untersuchung mittels quantitativer Magnetresonanztomographie.