[Study on electroacupuncture treatment of depression by magnetic resonance imaging].
OBJECTIVE
To explore the changes of metabolites in brain after treatment by analysis on 1H-MRS examination of the hippocampus and prefrontal lobe in the healthy volunteers and the depression patients.


METHODS
Seventy-five cases of mild and moderate depression were randomly divided into groups A, B and C, 25 cases in each group. The group A was treated with oral administration of Prozac capsule, 20 mg/d; the group B by electroacupuncture for 30-40 min and the needle was retained for 1 h, once each day, with main points Baihui (GV 20), Yin-tang (GV 29) and adjuvant acupoints selected; the group C by combination of the treatment methods in the groups A and B. They were treated for 6 weeks. Use PROBE-J sequence at the MRI system on Single Voxel of ROI of each lateral of hippocampus and frontal lobe in the depression patients of the 3 groups. Compare the differences of N-acetylasp artate/creatine (NAA/Cr) and choline/creatine (Cho/Cr) between the healthy volunteers and the patients before and after treatment.


RESULTS
Before treatment, NAA/Cr in the bilateral hippocampus decreased in the 3 groups as compared with the control group, and after treatment, NAA/Cr in the bilateral hippocampus of the group B and in the right hippocampus of the group C increased compared with that before treatment (P < 0.05), and NAA/Cr in the left hippocampus of the group C significantly increased as compared with that before treatment (P < 0.01). Before treatment, Cho/Cr in the bilateral prefrontal lobe in the 3 groups increased as compared with that in the control group (P < 0.05), after treatment, Cho/Cr in the bilateral prefrontal lobes of the groups A, B and C significantly decreased as compared with that before treatment (P < 0.05, P < 0.01).


CONCLUSIONS
There are differences in contents of metabolites in corresponding parts in bilateral frontal lobes and hippocampus between the depression patient and healthy person.
Duan
Dong-mei
DM
General Hospital of PLA, Beijing 100853, China; dongmei-d@hotmail.com
Tu
Ya
Y
Chen
Li-ping
LP
Wu
Zheng-jun
ZJ
D000328:Adult; D002794:Choline / Q000378:metabolism; D003401:Creatine / Q000378:metabolism; D003863:Depression / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000628:therapy*; D015671:Electroacupuncture; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000378:metabolism; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011859:Radiography; D055815:Young Adult
D003401:Creatine; D002794:Choline