Coffey C E, Figiel G S, Djang W T, Saunders W B, Weiner R D
Department of Psychiatry, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710.
J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci. 1989 Spring;1(2):135-44. doi: 10.1176/jnp.1.2.135.
In a prospective study of depressed elderly patients referred for electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), subcortical white matter hyperintensity (WMH) was seen in all 51 patients 60 years or older who received magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) prior to treatment. In over half of the patients the WMH was formally rated as at least moderately severe, and it was commonly associated with other structural brain changes. The majority (80%) of patients had late-age-onset depression, suggesting that structural brain changes may interact with aging to facilitate the emergency of depression in late life.
在一项针对转诊接受电休克治疗（ECT）的老年抑郁症患者的前瞻性研究中，所有51名60岁及以上在治疗前接受磁共振成像（MRI）检查的患者均出现了皮质下白质高信号（WMH）。超过半数的患者其WMH被正式评定为至少中度严重，并且它通常与其他脑结构变化相关。大多数（80%）患者患有晚发性抑郁症，这表明脑结构变化可能与衰老相互作用，促使晚年抑郁症的出现。
