Reduced anterior cingulate glutamatergic concentrations in childhood OCD and major depression versus healthy controls.
OBJECTIVE
To examine in vivo glutamatergic neurochemical alterations in the anterior cingulate cortex of pediatric patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) without major depressive disorder (MDD) versus pediatric patients with MDD without OCD and healthy controls.


METHODS
Single-voxel proton magnetic resonance spectroscopic examinations of the anterior cingulate cortex were conducted in 14 psychotropic-naïve children and adolescents with MDD without OCD, 10 to 19 years of age, 14 case-matched healthy controls, and 20 nondepressed, psychotropic-naïve pediatric patients with OCD 7 to 19 years of age.


RESULTS
Anterior cingulate glutamatergic concentrations were significantly reduced in both patients with OCD (15.1% decrease) and patients with MDD (18.7% decrease) compared with controls. Anterior cingulate glutamatergic concentrations did not differ significantly between patients with OCD and those with MDD.


CONCLUSIONS
Altered anterior cingulate glutamatergic neurotransmission may be involved in the pathogenesis of OCD and MDD. These preliminary findings further suggest that reduced anterior cingulate glutamate does not differentiate pediatric patients with OCD from pediatric patients with MDD.
Departments of Psychiatry, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA. drosen@med.wayne.edu
David R
DR
Rosenberg
Yousha
Y
Mirza
Aileen
A
Russell
Jennifer
J
Tang
Janet M
JM
Smith
S Preeya
SP
Banerjee
Rashmi
R
Bhandari
Michelle
M
Rose
Jennifer
J
Ivey
Courtney
C
Boyd
Gregory J
GJ
Moore
D000293:Adolescent; D001224:Aspartic Acid / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000378:metabolism; D002648:Child; D002794:Choline / Q000378:metabolism; D003401:Creatine / Q000378:metabolism; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D018698:Glutamic Acid / Q000378:metabolism*; D005973:Glutamine / Q000378:metabolism*; D006179:Gyrus Cinguli / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D007294:Inositol / Q000378:metabolism; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D008297:Male; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D010552:Personality Assessment; D010725:Phosphocreatine / Q000378:metabolism; D012016:Reference Values; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000502:physiology*
D010725:Phosphocreatine; D005973:Glutamine; D001224:Aspartic Acid; D018698:Glutamic Acid; D007294:Inositol; C000179:N-acetylaspartate; D003401:Creatine; D002794:Choline