title: Choline in pediatric depression.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The prefrontal cortex has been previously implicated in the neuropathology of major depressive disorder (MDD). Hence, we used proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) to examine choline levels in the prefrontal cortex of youth with major depression.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twelve age- and sex-matched case-control pairs were examined (age range 10 to 18 years, 7 females and 5 males in each group). All subjects were treatment naive at the time of the scan. A long echo 1H-MRS scan was acquired from the right prefrontal cortex (4cc) in all subjects.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Right prefrontal Choline/Creatine ratios were elevated in the youth with mood disorders (F1, 11=10.741, p=0.007) as compared with healthy controls.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings suggest that prefrontal cytosolic choline may be increased in youth with MDD in comparison with healthy controls. This is consistent with reported findings in both adults and adolescents and suggests that MDD in youth is associated with alterations in choline metabolism in the prefrontal cortex.
authors.affiliation: QE II Health Sciences Centre, Psychiatry, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. fpmacmas@dal.ca
authors.forename: Frank P
authors.initials: FP
authors.lastname: MacMaster
authors.forename: Vivek
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Kusumakar