Hippocampal Subfields in Acute and Remitted Depression—an Ultra-High Field Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study

• Published in: The international journal of neuropsychopharmacology Vol. 22; no. 8; pp. 513 - 522
• Main Authors: Kraus, Christoph, Seiger, Rene, Pfabigan, Daniela M, Sladky, Ronald, Tik, Martin, Paul, Katharina, Woletz, Michael, Gryglewski, Gregor, Vanicek, Thomas, Komorowski, Arkadiusz, Kasper, Siegfried, Lamm, Claus, Windischberger, Christian, Lanzenberger, Rupert
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Oxford University Press 01.08.2019
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Affect - drug effects; Antidepressants; Antidepressive Agents, Second-Generation - therapeutic use; Austria; Brain; Citalopram - therapeutic use; Depression (Mood disorder); Depressive Disorder, Major - diagnostic imaging; Depressive Disorder, Major - drug therapy; Depressive Disorder, Major - physiopathology; Depressive Disorder, Major - psychology; Diagnostic imaging; Drug Substitution; Escitalopram; Female; Health aspects; Hippocampus (Brain); Hippocampus - drug effects; Hippocampus - physiopathology; Humans; Information management; Labels; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Major depressive disorder; Male; Mental depression; Methods; Middle Aged; Physiological aspects; Predictive Value of Tests; Regular s; Remission Induction; Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors - therapeutic use; Serotonin and Noradrenaline Reuptake Inhibitors - therapeutic use; Time; Treatment Outcome; Tricyclic antidepressants; Venlafaxine Hydrochloride - therapeutic use; Young Adult; Austria; hippocampal subfields; depression; hippocampus; ultra-high field MRI; antidepressant
• ISSN: 1461-1457; 1469-5111; 1469-5111
• DOI: 10.1093/ijnp/pyz030

Studies investigating hippocampal volume changes after treatment with serotonergic antidepressants in patients with major depressive disorder yielded inconsistent results, and effects on hippocampal subfields are unclear. To detail treatment effects on total hippocampal and subfield volumes, we conducted an open-label study with escitalopram followed by venlafaxine upon nonresponse in 20 unmedicated patients with major depressive disorder. Before and after 12 weeks treatment, we measured total hippocampal formation volumes and subfield volumes with ultra-high field (7 Tesla), T1-weighted, structural magnetic resonance imaging, and FreeSurfer. Twenty-eight remitted patients and 22 healthy subjects were included as controls. We hypothesized to detect increased volumes after treatment in major depressive disorder. We did not detect treatment-related changes of total hippocampal or subfield volumes in patients with major depressive disorder. Secondary results indicated that the control group of untreated, stable remitted patients, compared with healthy controls, had larger volumes of the right hippocampal-amygdaloid transition area and right fissure at both measurement time points. Depressed patients exhibited larger volumes of the right subiculum compared with healthy controls at MRI-2. Exploratory data analyses indicated lower baseline volumes in the subgroup of remitting (n = 10) vs nonremitting (n = 10) acute patients. The results demonstrate that monoaminergic antidepressant treatment in major depressive disorder patients was not associated with volume changes in hippocampal subfields. Studies with larger sample sizes to detect smaller effects as well as other imaging modalities are needed to further assess the impact of antidepressant treatment on hippocampal subfields.