Left fimbria atrophy is associated with hippocampal metabolism in female major depressive disorder patients

Hippocampal and Hippocampal-Subfield Volumes From Early-Onset Major Depression and Bipolar Disorder to Cognitive Decline

Background: The hippocampus and its subfields (HippSub) are reported to be diminished in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD), bipolar disorder (BD), and major depressive disorder (MDD). We examined these groups vs healthy controls (HC) to reveal HippSub alterations between diseases.

Methods: We segmented 3T-MRI T2-weighted hippocampal images of 67 HC, 58 BD, and MDD patients from the AFFDIS study and 137 patients from the DELCODE study assessing cognitive decline, including subjective cognitive decline (SCD), amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI), and AD, via Free Surfer 6.0 to compare volumes across groups.

Results: Groups differed significantly in several HippSub volumes, particularly between patients with AD and mood disorders. In comparison to HC, significant lower volumes appear in aMCI and AD groups in specific subfields. Smaller volumes in the left presubiculum are detected in aMCI and AD patients, differing from the BD group. A significant linear regression is seen between left hippocampus volume and duration since the first depressive episode.

Conclusions: HippSub volume alterations were observed in AD, but not in early-onset MDD and BD, reinforcing the notion of different neural mechanisms in hippocampal degeneration. Moreover, duration since the first depressive episode was a relevant factor explaining the lower left hippocampal volumes present in groups.

Hippocampal Subfield Volumes in Major Depressive Disorder Adolescents with a History of Suicide Attempt

Suicidal behavior is a leading cause of death and often commences during adolescence/young adulthood (15~29 years old). The hippocampus, which consists of multiple functionally specialized subfields, may contribute to the pathophysiology of depression and suicidal behavior. We aimed to investigate the differences of hippocampal subfield volume between major depressive disorder (MDD) patients with and without suicide attempts and healthy controls in adolescents and young adults. A total of 40 MDD suicide attempters (MDD+SA), 27 MDD patients without suicide attempt (MDD-SA), and 37 healthy controls (HC) were recruited. High-resolution T1 MRI images were analyzed with the automated hippocampal substructure module in FreeSurfer 6.0. Volume differences among the groups were analyzed by a generalized linear model controlling for intracranial cavity volume (ICV). The relationship between hippocampal subfield volumes and clinical characteristics (HAM-D and SSI scores) was assessed using two-tailed partial correlation controlling for ICV in MDD+SA and MDD-SA. We found that MDD-SA had significantly smaller bilateral hippocampal fissure volume than HC and MDD+SA. No significant correlation was observed between hippocampal subfield volume and clinical characteristics (HAM-D and SSI scores) in MDD+SA and MDD-SA. Adolescent/young adult suicide attempters with MDD suicide attempters have larger bilateral hippocampal fissures than depressed patients without suicide attempts, independently from clinical characteristics. Within the heterogeneous syndrome of major depressive disorder that holds a risk for suicidality for subgroups, hippocampal morphology may help to explain or possibly predict such risk, yet longitudinal and functional studies are needed for understanding the biological mechanisms underlying.