Abstract
To explore the characteristic changes of magnetic resonance spectroscopy of prefrontal cortex and hippocampus and the correlation with the plasma cortisol level in depressed patients without any therapy. Subjects were divided into groups by the Hamilton depression scale. Blood was taken to detect the plasma cortisol level. Meanwhile, subjects were scanned by MRI and 1H-MRS to test the brain structure and the levels of NAA, Cho, Cr in prefrontal cortex and hippocampus. The level of plasma cortisol, the value of MRS and 1H-MRS of the patients were compared with those of normal control. We found that the level of plasma cortisol in depression group is higher than that in normal control group (P=0.000). A negative correlation between the level of plasma cortisol and the level of NAA in the left prefrontal cortex is observed (r = -0.625, P = 0.041), while in the left hippocampus, the correlation between them is positive (r = 0.647, P = 0.043). The level of NAA in the left prefrontal cortex of depression group is lower than that of normal control (P = 0.006); and the levels of NAA, Cho, Cr in both left and right hippocampus of depression group is lower than those of normal control group (P < 0.05). These data suggest that the changes of energy metabolism may happen before the structural damage of prefrontal cortex and hippocampus, and correlate to the changes of the level of plasma cortisol in depression patients.
Highlights
Depression is a psychiatric disorder characterized by obvious and long-lasting low mood
The comparison of 95% confidence interval of average age of 33 depressed patients with that of 20 subjects in normal control group and t-test proves that there is no significant difference for the ages between two groups (t = 1.65, P = 0.105)
16 patients with scores less than 35 points are regarded as moderate depression; in the other group, 17 patients with scores greater than 35 points are regarded as severe depression
Summary
Depression is a psychiatric disorder characterized by obvious and long-lasting low mood. It is unclear about the cause and the pathomechanism of the disease. The continually increased plasma cortisol level will damage prefrontal cortex and hippocampus etc., which are the mood-regulating areas, and cause symptoms such as depressed mood, cognitive dysfunction and insomnia and so on. The correlation between the plasma cortisol level of the depressed patients and the structure and function of such areas hasn't been clear yet. Through analyzing magnetic resonance spectroscopy, this study investigates the structure and function of prefrontal cortex and hippocampus of the depressed patients without any
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