Hippocampal volume in geriatric depression.
BACKGROUND
There is a growing literature on the importance of hippocampal volume in geriatric depression.


METHODS
We examined hippocampal volume in a group of elderly depressed patients and a group of elderly control subjects (N = 66 geriatric depressed patients and 18 elderly nondepressed control subjects) recruited through Duke's Mental Health Clinical Research Center for the Study of Depression in the Elderly. The subjects received a standardized evaluation, including a magnetic resonance imaging scan of the brain. Patients had unipolar major depression and were free of comorbid major psychiatric illness and neurologic illness. Differences were assessed using t tests and linear regression modeling.


RESULTS
Accounting for the effects of age, gender, and total brain volume, depressed patients tended to have smaller right hippocampal volume (p =.014) and left hippocampal volume (p =.073). Among depressed patients, age of onset was negatively but not significantly related to right hippocampal volume (p =.052) and to left hippocampal volume (p =.062). We noted that among subjects with either right or left hippocampal volume of 3 mL or less, the vast majority were patients rather than control subjects.


CONCLUSIONS
These results support a role for hippocampal dysfunction in depression, particularly in late-age onset depression. Longitudinal studies examining both depressive and cognitive outcomes are needed to clarify the relationships between the hippocampus, depression, and dementia.
Steffens
D C
DC
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710, USA.
Byrum
C E
CE
McQuoid
D R
DR
Greenberg
D L
DL
Payne
M E
ME
Blitchington
T F
TF
MacFall
J R
JR
Krishnan
K R
KR
D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales