title: Decreased left hippocampal volumes in parents with or without posttraumatic stress disorder who lost their only child in China.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Limbic structural changes have been found in people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, the results were controversial, and no study has examined the hippocampal and amygdala volume changes in parents with or without PTSD who had lost their only child and could no longer conceive in China.
  
  
  METHODS
  Hippocampal and amygdala volumes of 57 parents with PTSD (PTSD+), 11 trauma-exposed parents without PTSD (PTSD-) and 39 non-traumatized controls were examined using magnetic resonance imaging. Correlations of the volumes with the time since trauma, Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS) scores, age, gender and intracranial volume (ICV) were investigated in the PTSD+ group.
  
  
  RESULTS
  left hippocampal volumes were significantly smaller in the PTSD+ and PTSD- groups than in the controls, but there were no significant differences between the PTSD+ and PTSD- groups. Furthermore, there was no significant difference in the right hippocampus or bilateral amygdala volumes. Additionally, the hippocampal and amygdala volumes showed no correlation with the time since trauma, CAPS score and gender, whereas the left hippocampal volumes were correlated with ICV, and the bilateral amygdala volumes were correlated with ICV and age in the PTSD+ group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The PTSD- group included only 11 participants.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  left hippocampal volumes decreased in parents who lost their only child, with or without PTSD. Our results suggest a potentially unique role of the trauma of losing an only child, which is extremely painful and may induce a decrease in the left hippocampal volume independent of PTSD effects.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, the Affiliated Yixing Hospital of Jiangsu University, Wuxi, China.
authors.forename: Yifeng
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, the Affiliated Yixing Hospital of Jiangsu University, Wuxi, China.
authors.forename: Hairong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Shan
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, the Yixing Second People's Hospital, Wuxi, China.
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, the Affiliated Yixing Hospital of Jiangsu University, Wuxi, China.
authors.forename: Liwei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, the Affiliated Yixing Hospital of Jiangsu University, Wuxi, China.
authors.forename: Xiaojie
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, the Affiliated Yixing Hospital of Jiangsu University, Wuxi, China.
authors.forename: Tieliang
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, the Affiliated Yixing Hospital of Jiangsu University, Wuxi, China.
authors.forename: Wenjiao
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, the Affiliated Yixing Hospital of Jiangsu University, Wuxi, China.
authors.forename: Yue
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, BenQ Medical Center, Nanjing Medical University, 71 Hexi Road, Nanjing, China. Electronic address: fskwjc@126.com.
authors.forename: Jichen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, the Affiliated Yixing Hospital of Jiangsu University, Wuxi, China. Electronic address: luoyifeng1207@163.com.
authors.forename: Zhihong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Cao
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000679:Amygdala / Q000473:pathology*; D002648:Child; D002681:China; D003643:Death; D005260:Female; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009863:Only Child; D009929:Organ Size; D010290:Parents; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000473:pathology*
keywords: Amygdala; Bereavement; Hippocampus; Magnetic resonance imaging; Post-traumatic stress disorder