Volumetric MRI analysis of hippocampal subregions in Cushing's disease: a model for glucocorticoid neural modulation.
Several preclinical studies have demonstrated neuronal effects of glucocorticoids on the hippocampus (HC), a limbic structure with anterior-posterior anatomical and functional segmentation. We propose a volumetric magnetic resonance imaging analysis of hippocampus head (HH), body (HB) and tail (HT) using Cushing's disease (CD) as model, to investigate whether there is a differential sensitivity to glucocorticoid neuronal damage in these segments. We found a significant difference in the HH bilaterally after 12 months from trans-sphenoidal surgical selective resection of the adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)-secreting pituitary micro-adenomas. This pre-post surgery difference could contribute to better understand the pathopysiology of CD as an in vivo model for stress-related hypercortisolemic neuropsychiatric disorders.
Department of Neurosciences, Section of Psychiatry, University-Hospital of Padova, Via Giustiniani no. 2, 35128 Padova, Italy. tommaso.toffanin.1@unipd.it
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Toffanin
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Nifosì
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Follador
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Passamani
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Zonta
G
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Ferri
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M
Scanarini
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P
Amistà
G
G
Pigato
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Scaroni
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F
Mantero
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Carollo
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Perini
D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D005938:Glucocorticoids / Q000502:physiology*; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008954:Models, Biological; D009929:Organ Size; D047748:Pituitary ACTH Hypersecretion / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology
D005938:Glucocorticoids