MacMaster Frank P, Leslie Ronald, Rosenberg David R, Kusumakar Vivek
Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48201, USA.
Bipolar Disord. 2008 Feb;10(1):101-4. doi: 10.1111/j.1399-5618.2008.00476.x.
Few studies have examined pituitary gland size in mood disorders, particularly in adolescents. We hypothesized increase in the pituitary gland size in early-onset mood disorders.
Thirty subjects between the ages of 13 and 20 years participated in the study. Three groups (control, bipolar I depression and unipolar depression) of 10 subjects each (4 male, 6 female) underwent volumetric magnetic resonance imaging at 1.5 T.
Analysis of covariance (covarying for age, sex and intracranial volume) revealed a significant difference in pituitary gland volume amongst the groups [F(2,24) = 7.092, p = 0.014]. Post hoc analysis revealed that controls had a significantly smaller pituitary gland volume than both bipolar patients (p = 0.019) and depressed patients (p = 0.049). Bipolar and depressed subjects did not differ significantly from each other with regard to pituitary gland volume (p = 0.653). Control females had larger pituitary glands than control males [F(1,8) = 10.523, p = 0.012], but no sex differences were noted in the mood disorder groups.
Pituitary glands are enlarged in adolescents with mood disorders compared to controls. Healthy young females have larger pituitary glands than males, but such a difference is not evident in individuals with unipolar depression or bipolar disorder. These findings provide new evidence of abnormalities of the pituitary in early onset mood disorders, and are consistent with neuroendocrine dysfunction in early stages of such illnesses.
很少有研究探讨情绪障碍患者的垂体大小，尤其是青少年患者。我们假设早发性情绪障碍患者的垂体会增大。
30名年龄在13至20岁之间的受试者参与了该研究。三组（对照组、双相I型抑郁症组和单相抑郁症组），每组10名受试者（4名男性，6名女性），均接受了1.5T的容积磁共振成像检查。
协方差分析（对年龄、性别和颅内体积进行协变量调整）显示，各组之间垂体体积存在显著差异[F(2,24)=7.092，p=0.014]。事后分析显示，对照组的垂体体积显著小于双相情感障碍患者（p=0.019）和抑郁症患者（p=0.049）。双相情感障碍患者和抑郁症患者在垂体体积方面无显著差异（p=0.653）。对照组女性的垂体比男性大[F(1,8)=10.523，p=0.012]，但在情绪障碍组中未发现性别差异。
与对照组相比，患有情绪障碍的青少年垂体增大。健康的年轻女性垂体比男性大，但在单相抑郁症或双相情感障碍患者中这种差异不明显。这些发现为早发性情绪障碍患者垂体异常提供了新证据，并且与这类疾病早期的神经内分泌功能障碍一致。
