Wang Xianglan, Tao Jiong, Li Lingjiang, Zhong Zhiyong, Liu Sha, Jiang Tianzi, Zhang Jinbei
Mental Health Institute of the Second Xiangya Hospital, National Technology Institute of Psychiatry, Key Laboratory of Psychiatry and Mental Health of Hunan Province, Central South University, Changsha, 410011, China.
Department of Psychiatry, the Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510630, China.
BMC Psychiatry. 2014 Dec 24;14:367. doi: 10.1186/s12888-014-0367-8.
Subsyndromal depression (SSD) is considered as a predictor for future depressive disorders, however whether white matter abnormalities are involved in the high-susceptibility of women to depressive disorders during perimenopause is unknown. The purpose of this study was to investigate fractional anisotropy (FA) in the white matter of the whole brain in perimenopausal women with SSD using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI).
In a cross-sectional study, 24 perimenopausal women with SSD and 24 other age-, education-, and body mass index-matched healthy women underwent DTI. A voxel-based analysis was used to elucidate regional FA changes at a voxel threshold of p < 0.001 with an extent threshold of k > 127 voxels (p < 0.05, AlphaSim correction). Subsequently, correlation analyses were performed between mean FA values in significant brain regions and plasma estradiol level.
Compared to healthy controls, women with SSD exhibited significantly lower FA values in the left insula, while higher FA values were observed in the left ventral lateral thalamus and left and right brainstem in the midbrain. In subjects with SSD, the mean FA value in the left insula was positively correlated to plasma estradiol levels (r = 0.453, p = 0.026) (uncorrected).
Our findings indicate altered microstructures in white matter of the insula and subcortical regions may be associated with the high susceptibility of perimenopausal women to depressive disorders. Estrogen may modulate the white matter microstructure of the insula.
亚综合征性抑郁（SSD）被认为是未来发生抑郁障碍的一个预测指标，然而围绝经期女性对抑郁障碍的高易感性是否涉及白质异常尚不清楚。本研究的目的是使用扩散张量成像（DTI）研究患有SSD的围绝经期女性全脑白质的分数各向异性（FA）。
在一项横断面研究中，24名患有SSD的围绝经期女性和24名年龄、教育程度及体重指数相匹配的健康女性接受了DTI检查。采用基于体素的分析方法，在体素阈值p<0.001、范围阈值k>127体素（p<0.05，AlphaSim校正）的条件下阐明区域FA变化。随后，对显著脑区的平均FA值与血浆雌二醇水平进行相关性分析。
与健康对照组相比，患有SSD的女性左侧岛叶的FA值显著降低，而在中脑的左侧腹外侧丘脑以及左侧和右侧脑干观察到较高的FA值。在患有SSD的受试者中，左侧岛叶的平均FA值与血浆雌二醇水平呈正相关（r = 0.453，p = 0.026）（未校正）。
我们的研究结果表明，岛叶和皮质下区域白质的微观结构改变可能与围绝经期女性对抑郁障碍的高易感性有关。雌激素可能调节岛叶的白质微观结构。
