Volume of hippocampal substructures in borderline personality disorder. Issue 3 (30th March 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Kreisel, Stefan Henner; Labudda, Kirsten; Kurlandchikov, Oleg; Beblo, Thomas; Mertens, Markus; Thomas, Christine; Rullkötter, Nina; Wingenfeld, Katja; Mensebach, Christoph; Woermann, Friedrich G.; Driessen, Martin
• Is Part Of: Psychiatry research. Volume 231:Issue 3(2015)
• Page Start: 218
• Page End: 226
• Publication Date: 2015-03-30
• Subjects: Structural magnetic resonance imaging -- Posttraumatic stress disorder -- Comorbidity -- Confounding; Psychiatry -- Periodicals; Brain -- Imaging -- Periodicals; Psychiatry -- Periodicals; Diagnostic Imaging -- Periodicals; Psychiatrie -- Périodiques; Cerveau -- Imagerie pour le diagnostic -- Périodiques; 616.890754
• DOI: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2014.11.010
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0925-4927

Abstract

Abstract: Borderline personality disorder (BPD) may be associated with smaller hippocampi in comparison to hippocampal size in controls. However, specific pathology in hippocampal substructures (i.e., head, body and tail) has not been sufficiently investigated. To address hippocampal structure in greater detail, we studied 39 psychiatric inpatients and outpatients with a DSM-IV diagnosis of BPD and 39 healthy controls. The hippocampus and its substructures were segmented manually on magnetic resonance imaging scans. The volumes of hippocampal substructures (and total hippocampal volume) did not differ between BPD patients and controls. Exploratory analysis suggests that patients with a lifetime history of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may have a significantly smaller hippocampus – affecting both the hippocampal head and body – in comparison to BPD patients without comorbid PTSD (difference in total hippocampal volume: −10.5%, 95%CI −2.6 to −18.5, significant). Also, patients fulfilling seven or more DSM-IV BPD criteria showed a hippocampal volume reduction, limited to the hippocampal head (difference in volume of the hippocampal head: −16.5%, 95%CI −6.1 to −26.8, significant). Disease heterogeneity in respect to, for example, symptom severity and psychiatric comorbidities may limit direct comparability between studies; the results presented here may reflect hippocampal volumes in patients who are "less" affected or they may simply be a chance finding. However, there is also the possibility that global effects of BPD on the hippocampus may have previously been overestimated. Highlights: The volume of the hippocampus was manually measured on MRI scans. There were no differences between patients with BPD and normal controls. This contradicts previous findings. A possible explanation is disorder heterogeneity.