Pituitary volume in teenagers with first-presentation borderline personality disorder.
This study used magnetic resonance imaging to examine pituitary gland volume (PGV) in teenage patients with a first presentation of borderline personality disorder (BPD). No difference in PGV was observed between healthy controls (n=20) and the total BPD cohort (n=20). However, within the BPD cohort, those exposed to childhood trauma (n=9) tended to have smaller pituitaries (-18%) than those with no history of childhood trauma (n=10). These preliminary findings suggest that exposure to childhood trauma, rather than BPD, per se, might be associated with reduced PGV, possibly reflecting hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis dysfunction.
Garner
Belinda
B
ORYGEN Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.
Chanen
Andrew M
AM
Phillips
Lisa
L
Velakoulis
Dennis
D
Wood
Stephen J
SJ
Jackson
Henry J
HJ
Pantelis
Christos
C
McGorry
Patrick D
PD
D000293:Adolescent; D001883:Borderline Personality Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007030:Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D010902:Pituitary Gland / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D010913:Pituitary-Adrenal System / Q000503:physiopathology; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology