BACKGROUND:Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies have especially reported smaller hippocampal volume in patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), most of them war or sexual abuse victims. The present study compares the hippocampal volumes of out-patients with PTSD who had low co-morbidity rates to those of trauma-exposed control subjects withoutPTSD, and measures hippocampal volume changes in these patients after brief eclectic psychotherapy. We hypothesized that smaller hippocampal volumes are specific to PTSD and that hippocampal volume changes after effective psychotherapy would be measurable. METHOD:Eighteen patients with PTSD and 14 traumatized control subjects were examined with MRI. In a randomized clinical trial, the PTSD patients were assigned to treatment (n = 9) or waiting-list group (n = 9). After the former received psychotherapy for 4 months, the MRI was repeated on both PTSD groups. Three temporal lobe structures were manually segmented: hippocampus, amygdala, and parahippocampal gyrus. Volumetric analysis was used to measure grey matter, white matter, and cerebrospinal fluid. RESULTS:PTSD patients had significantly smaller hippocampal volumes at baseline (total 13.8%, right 13.5%, left 14.1%) compared to the control subjects. After effective psychotherapy, however, no volume changes were found in the smaller hippocampi. CONCLUSIONS: We confirmed previous findings of smaller hippocampal volume in PTSD in a new population made up of out-patients who experienced different types of traumas, reducing co-morbidity to a minimum. Smaller hippocampal volumes did not change after effective psychotherapy, even while symptoms resolved.
RCT Entities:
BACKGROUND: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies have especially reported smaller hippocampal volume in patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), most of them war or sexual abuse victims. The present study compares the hippocampal volumes of out-patients with PTSD who had low co-morbidity rates to those of trauma-exposed control subjects without PTSD, and measures hippocampal volume changes in these patients after brief eclectic psychotherapy. We hypothesized that smaller hippocampal volumes are specific to PTSD and that hippocampal volume changes after effective psychotherapy would be measurable. METHOD: Eighteen patients with PTSD and 14 traumatized control subjects were examined with MRI. In a randomized clinical trial, the PTSDpatients were assigned to treatment (n = 9) or waiting-list group (n = 9). After the former received psychotherapy for 4 months, the MRI was repeated on both PTSD groups. Three temporal lobe structures were manually segmented: hippocampus, amygdala, and parahippocampal gyrus. Volumetric analysis was used to measure grey matter, white matter, and cerebrospinal fluid. RESULTS:PTSDpatients had significantly smaller hippocampal volumes at baseline (total 13.8%, right 13.5%, left 14.1%) compared to the control subjects. After effective psychotherapy, however, no volume changes were found in the smaller hippocampi. CONCLUSIONS: We confirmed previous findings of smaller hippocampal volume in PTSD in a new population made up of out-patients who experienced different types of traumas, reducing co-morbidity to a minimum. Smaller hippocampal volumes did not change after effective psychotherapy, even while symptoms resolved.
Authors: Brigitte A Apfel; Jessica Ross; Jennifer Hlavin; Dieter J Meyerhoff; Thomas J Metzler; Charles R Marmar; Michael W Weiner; Norbert Schuff; Thomas C Neylan Journal: Biol Psychiatry Date: 2010-11-20 Impact factor: 13.382
Authors: Mitzy Kennis; Sanne J H van Rooij; Do P M Tromp; Andrew S Fox; Arthur R Rademaker; René S Kahn; Ned H Kalin; Elbert Geuze Journal: Neuropsychopharmacology Date: 2015-04-03 Impact factor: 7.853
Authors: Richard A Bryant; Kim Felmingham; Thomas J Whitford; Andrew Kemp; Gerard Hughes; Anthony Peduto; Leanne M Williams Journal: J Psychiatry Neurosci Date: 2008-03 Impact factor: 6.186
Authors: Robert W Van Boven; Greg S Harrington; David B Hackney; Andreas Ebel; Grant Gauger; J Douglas Bremner; Mark D'Esposito; John A Detre; E Mark Haacke; Clifford R Jack; William J Jagust; Denis Le Bihan; Chester A Mathis; Susanne Mueller; Pratik Mukherjee; Norbert Schuff; Anthony Chen; Michael W Weiner Journal: J Rehabil Res Dev Date: 2009
Authors: Rachel Yehuda; Laura C Pratchett; Matthew W Elmes; Amy Lehrner; Nikolaos P Daskalakis; Erin Koch; Iouri Makotkine; Janine D Flory; Linda M Bierer Journal: Interface Focus Date: 2014-10-06 Impact factor: 3.906
Authors: Xi Zhu; Benjamin Suarez-Jimenez; Amit Lazarov; Liat Helpman; Santiago Papini; Ari Lowell; Ariel Durosky; Martin A Lindquist; John C Markowitz; Franklin Schneier; Tor D Wager; Yuval Neria Journal: Depress Anxiety Date: 2018-09-10 Impact factor: 6.505