Guanmao Chen1, Siying Fu1, Pan Chen1, Shuming Zhong2, Feng Chen1, Long Qian3, Zhenye Luo1, Youling Pan1, Guixian Tang1, Yanbin Jia2, Li Huang1, Ying Wang4. 1. Medical Imaging Center, First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, Guangzhou 510630, China; Institute of Molecular and Functional Imaging, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510630, China. 2. Department of Psychiatry, First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, Guangzhou 510630, China. 3. MR Research, GE Healthcare, Beijing, China. 4. Medical Imaging Center, First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, Guangzhou 510630, China; Institute of Molecular and Functional Imaging, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510630, China. Electronic address: johneil@vip.sina.com.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: To detect the whole-brain reduced myelin density in unmedicated patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) using the inhomogeneous magnetization transfer (ihMT) imaging technology. Compared to other technologies, the ihMT provides high specificity and sensitivity to detect myelin. METHOD: In this prospective study, fifty unmedicated patients (mean age 25.36 years, 40% men) with MDD and 57 age- and sex-matched healthy controls (HCs) (mean age 25.02 years, 53% men) were recruited between January 2019 and December 2019. All participants underwent ihMT imaging, and pseudo-quantitative ihMT (qihMT) and ihMT ratio (ihMTR) were obtained. The mean values of qihMT and ihMTR extracted from the 50 WM masks (extracted from the International Consortium for Brain Mapping, ICBM-152) in each participant were compared between participants in the MDD and HCs groups. The symptoms of patients were evaluated using the 24-item Hamilton Depression Rating scale (HDRS). RESULTS: Compared with the HC group, the MDD group showed significantly decreased qihMT and ihMTR values in the left inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus (IFOF) (t = -4.057, p < 0.001; t = -3.662, p < 0.001) and the left uncinate fasciculus (UF) (t = -4.776, p < 0.001; t = -3.800, p < 0.001) after Bonferroni correction. The correlation analysis displayed a significant negative correlation between qihMT values of the left IFOF and HDRS total scores in patients with MDD (r = -0.390, p = 0.012). LIMITATIONS: This was a cross-sectional study with a relative small sample. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest the reduced myelin density in the IFOF and UF in patients with MDD, which might be associated with the pathophysiology of MDD.
OBJECTIVES: To detect the whole-brain reduced myelin density in unmedicated patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) using the inhomogeneous magnetization transfer (ihMT) imaging technology. Compared to other technologies, the ihMT provides high specificity and sensitivity to detect myelin. METHOD: In this prospective study, fifty unmedicated patients (mean age 25.36 years, 40% men) with MDD and 57 age- and sex-matched healthy controls (HCs) (mean age 25.02 years, 53% men) were recruited between January 2019 and December 2019. All participants underwent ihMT imaging, and pseudo-quantitative ihMT (qihMT) and ihMT ratio (ihMTR) were obtained. The mean values of qihMT and ihMTR extracted from the 50 WM masks (extracted from the International Consortium for Brain Mapping, ICBM-152) in each participant were compared between participants in the MDD and HCs groups. The symptoms of patients were evaluated using the 24-item Hamilton Depression Rating scale (HDRS). RESULTS: Compared with the HC group, the MDD group showed significantly decreased qihMT and ihMTR values in the left inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus (IFOF) (t = -4.057, p < 0.001; t = -3.662, p < 0.001) and the left uncinate fasciculus (UF) (t = -4.776, p < 0.001; t = -3.800, p < 0.001) after Bonferroni correction. The correlation analysis displayed a significant negative correlation between qihMT values of the left IFOF and HDRS total scores in patients with MDD (r = -0.390, p = 0.012). LIMITATIONS: This was a cross-sectional study with a relative small sample. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest the reduced myelin density in the IFOF and UF in patients with MDD, which might be associated with the pathophysiology of MDD.
Authors: Taylor A Burke; Alexandra H Bettis; Anastacia Kudinova; Sarah A Thomas; Jacqueline Nesi; Leyla Erguder; Heather A MacPherson; Elizabeth Thompson; Brooke A Ammerman; Jennifer C Wolff Journal: Child Psychiatry Hum Dev Date: 2021-08-06