title: Pituitary volume in patients with bipolar disorder and their first-degree relatives.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis dysregulation has been reported in bipolar disorder (BD), but previous magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies of pituitary gland volume in BD have yielded inconsistent findings. In addition, the contribution of genetic factors to the pituitary changes in BD remains largely unknown.
  
  
  METHODS
  We used MRI to investigate the pituitary volume in 29 remitted patients with BD, 49 of their first-degree relatives (of whom 15 had a diagnosis of Major Depressive Disorder), and 52 age- and gender-matched healthy controls.
  
  
  RESULTS
  BD patients had a significantly larger pituitary volume compared with their relatives and healthy controls. Pituitary volume did not differ between controls and healthy relatives or relatives diagnosed with major depression.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Direct measures of HPA function (i.e., hormonal levels) were not available.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings suggest that enlarged pituitary volume is associated with disease expression but not genetic susceptibility to BD.
authors.affiliation: Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne and Melbourne Health, Victoria, Australia. tsutomu@med.u-toyama.ac.jp
authors.forename: Tsutomu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Walterfang
authors.forename: Stephen J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Wood
authors.forename: Matthew J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Kempton
authors.forename: Jigar
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jogia
authors.forename: Valentina
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Lorenzetti
authors.forename: Bridget
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Soulsby
authors.forename: Michio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: Dennis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Velakoulis
authors.forename: Christos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pantelis
authors.forename: Sophia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Frangou
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000523:psychology; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease / Q000235:genetics / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009929:Organ Size; D010902:Pituitary Gland / Q000473:pathology*; D012016:Reference Values