Zhang Jie, Zou Xingxiong, Cai Xianjie, Zou Menghong, Li Hongwei, Feng Ruohan
Department of Radiology, The Third Hospital of Mianyang, Sichuan Mental Health Center, Mianyang Sichuan, 621000, People's Republic of China.
Department of Radiology, MOE Key Laboratory of Major Diseases in Children, Beijing Children's Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Center for Children's Health, Beijing, 10045, People's Republic of China.
Nat Sci Sleep. 2025 Sep 10;17:2155-2164. doi: 10.2147/NSS.S548253. eCollection 2025.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between glymphatic function and sleep quality in adolescents with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). Previous research has linked glymphatic dysfunction to MDD in adults, often associated with sleep disturbances, but the relationship between these factors in adolescents remains unclear.
This study utilized Diffusion Tensor Imaging analysis along the perivascular space (DTI-ALPS) to assess glymphatic system function and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) to evaluate sleep quality in adolescents. A total of 138 participants were included: 80 first-episode and medication-naive patients with MDD (total 80: 9 with mild MDD, 28 with moderate MDD, 43 with severe MDD), and 58 healthy controls. Pearson correlation analysis was performed to examine the relationship between sleep quality and glymphatic function.
The results showed adolescents with MDD demonstrated poor sleep quality, whereas healthy controls exhibited normal sleep quality. However, no significant impairment in glymphatic function was observed. Furthermore, no clear correlation was found between sleep quality and glymphatic function in the adolescent MDD group.
This study provides novel insights into the neurobiological mechanisms of adolescent MDD, suggesting that the glymphatic system may not contribute to its pathogenesis in the same way as in adults. However, this cross-sectional study, with its small sample size and single-center design, limits the generalizability of the findings. Future research should adopt longitudinal, multicenter, and larger-scale designs to further investigate these relationships in more depth.
本研究旨在探讨青少年重度抑郁症（MDD）患者的类淋巴功能与睡眠质量之间的关系。先前的研究已将类淋巴功能障碍与成人的MDD联系起来，这通常与睡眠障碍有关，但这些因素在青少年中的关系仍不清楚。
本研究利用沿血管周围间隙的扩散张量成像分析（DTI-ALPS）来评估青少年的类淋巴系统功能，并采用匹兹堡睡眠质量指数（PSQI）来评估睡眠质量。总共纳入了138名参与者：80名首次发作且未接受过药物治疗的MDD患者（共80名：9名轻度MDD患者，28名中度MDD患者，43名重度MDD患者），以及58名健康对照者。进行Pearson相关性分析以检验睡眠质量与类淋巴功能之间的关系。
结果显示，患有MDD的青少年睡眠质量较差，而健康对照者睡眠质量正常。然而，未观察到类淋巴功能有明显损害。此外，在青少年MDD组中，睡眠质量与类淋巴功能之间未发现明显相关性。
本研究为青少年MDD的神经生物学机制提供了新的见解，表明类淋巴系统可能不像在成人中那样对其发病机制起作用。然而，这项横断面研究由于样本量小且为单中心设计，限制了研究结果的普遍性。未来的研究应采用纵向、多中心和更大规模的设计，以更深入地进一步研究这些关系。
