MacMaster Frank P, Kusumakar Vivek
Institute for Biodiagnostics (Atlantic), National Research Council, QE II Health Sciences Centre, Halifax, NS, Canada.
J Psychiatr Res. 2004 May-Jun;38(3):231-6. doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2003.11.001.
Abnormalities in pituitary function have been described in major depressive disorder (MDD) and may reflect neurodevelopmental abnormalities. We hypothesized alterations in the pituitary in early onset MDD. We measured the volume of the pituitary gland in 17 MDD (mean+/-S.D.=16.67+/-1.83 years; 8M, 9F) patients and 17 age and sex matched healthy controls (mean+/-S.D.=16.23+/-1.61 years; 8M, 9F) using 1.45 mm thick T(1)-weighted coronal MRI images. A trained rater blind to diagnosis did all measurements. ANCOVA covarying for age, sex and intracranial volume (ICV) revealed a significant difference between the two groups (F=6.43, df=1, 29, P=0.02; MDD subjects demonstrated a 25% increase in pituitary gland volume). Age was significantly correlated with pituitary volume in the healthy controls (r=0.62, P=0.008) but not the MDD group. No significant relationships between pituitary size and clinical severity were found in the MDD patients. To our knowledge, this is the first study that reports larger pituitary volumes in early onset major depression. These findings provide new evidence of abnormalities of the pituitary in early onset MDD, possibly related to neuroendocrine dysfunction.
垂体功能异常在重度抑郁症（MDD）中已有描述，可能反映神经发育异常。我们推测早发性MDD患者的垂体会有改变。我们使用1.45毫米厚的T1加权冠状位MRI图像，测量了17例MDD患者（平均±标准差=16.67±1.83岁；8名男性，9名女性）和17名年龄及性别匹配的健康对照者（平均±标准差=16.23±1.61岁；8名男性，9名女性）的垂体体积。由一名对诊断不知情的经过培训的评估者进行所有测量。对年龄、性别和颅内体积（ICV）进行协方差分析的结果显示，两组之间存在显著差异（F=6.43，自由度=1, 29，P=0.02；MDD受试者的垂体体积增加了25%）。在健康对照者中，年龄与垂体体积显著相关（r=0.62，P=0.008），但在MDD组中并非如此。在MDD患者中，未发现垂体大小与临床严重程度之间存在显著关系。据我们所知，这是第一项报告早发性重度抑郁症患者垂体体积更大的研究。这些发现为早发性MDD患者垂体异常提供了新证据，可能与神经内分泌功能障碍有关。
