Influence of age of onset on limbic and paralimbic structures in depression. Issue 12 (9th June 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Jaworska, Natalia; MacMaster, Frank P.; Yang, Xiao‐Ru; Courtright, Allegra; Pradhan, Sarah; Gaxiola, Ismael; Cortese, Filomeno; Goodyear, Bradley; Ramasubbu, Rajamannar
• Is Part Of: Psychiatry and clinical neurosciences. Volume 68:Issue 12(2014)
• Page Start: 812
• Page End: 820
• Publication Date: 2014-06-09
• Subjects: Psychiatry -- Periodicals; Neurology -- Periodicals; 616.89
• DOI: 10.1111/pcn.12197
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1323-1316

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="main"> <title> <x xml:space="preserve">Abstract</x> </title> <sec id="pcn12197-sec-0001" sec-type="section"> <title>Aim</title> <p>Major depressive disorder (MDD) onset during childhood/adolescence is associated with a greater illness burden and distinct clinical profile. However, limited research exists on the effect of age of MDD onset on volumetric abnormalities in para/limbic structures during adulthood.</p> </sec> <sec id="pcn12197-sec-0002" sec-type="section"> <title>Methods</title> <p>Subgenual anterior cingulate cortex (sgACC), hippocampus and caudate nucleus volumes were measured by manual tracing in depressed individuals (<italic>n</italic> = 45) and healthy controls (HC; <italic>n</italic> = 19). Volumetric comparisons were carried out between HC and MDD patients divided into those with pediatric (≤18 years; <italic>n</italic> = 17) and adult onset (≥19 years; <italic>n</italic> = 28).</p> </sec> <sec id="pcn12197-sec-0003" sec-type="section"> <title>Results</title> <p>The adult MDD‐onset group had smaller sgACC volumes than the pediatric‐onset and HC groups (age, sex controlled). No differences in caudate and hippocampus volumes existed. sgACC and hippocampal volumes were inversely correlated with depression severity.</p> </sec> <sec id="pcn12197-sec-0004" sec-type="section"> <title>Conclusions</title> <p>Surprisingly, pediatric MDD‐onset was not associated with more pronounced sgACC, hippocampus and caudate volume reductions. Nevertheless, age of illness onset appears to be a meaningful dimension of study in efforts to understand the neurobiological heterogeneity of MDD.</p> </sec> </abstract>