No pituitary gland volume change in medication-free depressed patients

PubMed ID: 18573301Increased serum cortisol levels and a hyperactive hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis have been proposed to play an important role in the pathophysiology of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). However, there are inconsistent results regarding pituitary gland volume (PGV), which is one of the key elements of the HPA axis evaluated by MRI in depressed patients. In this study, we analyzed the PGV of medication-free moderately depressed MDD patients (N = 34) and age and sex matched healthy controls (N = 39). PGV did not differ between MDD patients and healthy controls [mean volume ± S.D.; 0.76 ± 0.17 cm3 and 0.75 ± 0.14 cm3; ANCOVA, F1,69 = 1.25 p > 0.05; respectively]. Our results confirm that volumetric PGV changes are not crucial for depression pathophysiology among unmedicated, moderately depressed adults. © 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.This study is a part of SoCAT Project supported by Ihsan Dogramaci Foundation and was partially supported by Huray Fidaner Research Award of Izmir Psychiatric Association to corresponding author (ASG). -