title: Pituitary volume in pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Abnormalities in the limbic-hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (LHPA) axis have been implicated in the pathogenesis of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). To our knowledge, however, no prior study has measured pituitary gland volume in OCD.
  
  
  METHODS
  Volumetric magnetic resonance imaging studies were conducted in 31 psychotropic drug-naïve children (10 boys, 21 girls) aged 8-17 years and 31 case-matched healthy comparison subjects.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Pituitary volume was significantly smaller in patients with OCD as compared with healthy control subjects (11% smaller). Smaller pituitary volume in patients with OCD was associated with increased compulsive but not obsessive symptom severity. Boys with OCD had smaller pituitary gland volumes compared with control boys (20% smaller). No significant differences in pituitary volume were observed between girls with OCD and control girls. Boys with OCD had significantly smaller pituitary volumes than girls with OCD (31% smaller), whereas control boys also had smaller pituitary gland volumes compared with control girls (21% smaller).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings provide new evidence of reduced pituitary volume in pediatric OCD that seems to be more prominent in male patients. The observed alterations in pituitary volume are consistent with neuroendocrine studies that have reported abnormalities in the LHPA axis in OCD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan 48201, USA. drosen@med.wayne.edu
authors.forename: Frank P
authors.initials: FP
authors.lastname: MacMaster
authors.forename: Aileen
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Russell
authors.forename: Yousha
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Mirza
authors.forename: Matcheri S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Keshavan
authors.forename: S Preeya
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Banerjee
authors.forename: Rashmi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bhandari
authors.forename: Courtney
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Boyd
authors.forename: Michelle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lynch
authors.forename: Michelle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rose
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ivey
authors.forename: Gregory J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Moore
authors.forename: David R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Rosenberg
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis*; D010902:Pituitary Gland / Q000473:pathology*; D012016:Reference Values