Huang Xin-Lin, Gao Ju, Wang Yong-Ming, Zhu Feng, Qin Jing, Yao Qian-Nan, Zhang Xiao-Bin, Sun Hong-Yan
Imaging and Nuclear Medicine, Jiamusi University, Jiamusi 154000, Heilongjiang Province, China.
Department of Psychiatry, The Affiliated Guangji Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou 215137, Jiangsu Province, China.
World J Psychiatry. 2024 Feb 19;14(2):276-286. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v14.i2.276.
Major depression disorder (MDD) constitutes a significant mental health concern. Epidemiological surveys indicate that the lifetime prevalence of depression in adolescents is much higher than that in adults, with a corresponding increased risk of suicide. In studying brain dysfunction associated with MDD in adole-scents, research on brain white matter (WM) is sparse. Some researchers even mistakenly regard the signals generated by the WM as noise points. In fact, studies have shown that WM exhibits similar blood oxygen level-dependent signal fluctuations. The alterations in WM signals and their relationship with disease severity in adolescents with MDD remain unclear.
To explore potential abnormalities in WM functional signals in adolescents with MDD.
This study involved 48 adolescent patients with MDD and 31 healthy controls (HC). All participants were assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 Scale and the mini international neuropsychiatric interview (MINI) suicide inventory. In addition, a Siemens Skyra 3.0T magnetic resonance scanner was used to obtain the subjects' image data. The DPABI software was utilized to calculate the WM signal of the fractional amplitude of low frequency fluctuations (fALFF) and regional homogeneity, followed by a two-sample -test between the MDD and HC groups. Independent component analysis (ICA) was also used to evaluate the WM functional signal. Pearson's correlation was performed to assess the relationship between statistical test results and clinical scales.
Compared to HC, individuals with MDD demonstrated a decrease in the fALFF of WM in the corpus callosum body, left posterior limb of the internal capsule, right superior corona radiata, and bilateral posterior corona radiata [ < 0.001, family-wise error (FWE) voxel correction]. The regional homogeneity of WM increased in the right posterior limb of internal capsule and left superior corona radiata, and decreased in the left superior longitudinal fasciculus ( < 0.001, FWE voxel correction). The ICA results of WM overlapped with those of regional homo-geneity. The fALFF of WM signal in the left posterior limb of the internal capsule was negatively correlated with the MINI suicide scale ( 0.026, = -0.32), and the right posterior corona radiata was also negatively correlated with the MINI suicide scale ( = 0.047, = -0.288).
Adolescents with MDD involves changes in WM functional signals, and these differences in brain regions may increase the risk of suicide.
重度抑郁症（MDD）是一个重大的心理健康问题。流行病学调查表明，青少年抑郁症的终生患病率远高于成年人，自杀风险相应增加。在研究青少年MDD相关的脑功能障碍时，关于脑白质（WM）的研究较少。一些研究人员甚至错误地将WM产生的信号视为噪声点。事实上，研究表明WM表现出类似的血氧水平依赖信号波动。MDD青少年WM信号的改变及其与疾病严重程度的关系仍不清楚。
探讨MDD青少年WM功能信号的潜在异常。
本研究纳入48例MDD青少年患者和31例健康对照（HC）。所有参与者均使用患者健康问卷-9量表和迷你国际神经精神病学访谈（MINI）自杀量表进行评估。此外，使用西门子Skyra 3.0T磁共振扫描仪获取受试者的图像数据。利用DPABI软件计算低频波动分数振幅（fALFF）和局部一致性的WM信号，然后在MDD组和HC组之间进行双样本检验。还使用独立成分分析（ICA）来评估WM功能信号。进行Pearson相关性分析以评估统计检验结果与临床量表之间的关系。
与HC相比，MDD患者胼胝体、左侧内囊后肢、右侧放射冠上部和双侧放射冠后部的WM的fALFF降低[<0.001，家族性错误（FWE）体素校正]。内囊右后肢和放射冠左上部的WM局部一致性增加，而左侧上纵束的局部一致性降低（<0.001，FWE体素校正）。WM的ICA结果与局部一致性结果重叠。内囊左后肢WM信号的fALFF与MINI自杀量表呈负相关（=0.026，=-0.32），右侧放射冠后部也与MINI自杀量表呈负相关（=0.047，=-0.288）。
MDD青少年存在WM功能信号变化，这些脑区差异可能增加自杀风险。
