MRI study of the pituitary gland in adolescent depression
Abstract
Abnormalities in pituitary function have been described in major depressive disorder (MDD) and may reflect neurodevelopmental abnormalities. We hypothesized alterations in the pituitary in early onset MDD. We measured the volume of the pituitary gland in 17 MDD (mean+/-S.D.=16.67+/-1.83 years; 8M, 9F) patients and 17 age and sex matched healthy controls (mean+/-S.D.=16.23+/-1.61 years; 8M, 9F) using 1.45 mm thick T(1)-weighted coronal MRI images. A trained rater blind to diagnosis did all measurements. ANCOVA covarying for age, sex and intracranial volume (ICV) revealed a significant difference between the two groups (F=6.43, df=1, 29, P=0.02; MDD subjects demonstrated a 25% increase in pituitary gland volume). Age was significantly correlated with pituitary volume in the healthy controls (r=0.62, P=0.008) but not the MDD group. No significant relationships between pituitary size and clinical severity were found in the MDD patients. To our knowledge, this is the first study that reports larger pituitary volumes in early onset major depression. These findings provide new evidence of abnormalities of the pituitary in early onset MDD, possibly related to neuroendocrine dysfunction.
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Pituitary volume changes have been reported in MDD with both increased, reduced or no change in volume.
“Pituitary volume changes have been reported in MDD with both increased (46, 47), reduced or not change in volume reported (48–50).”
From Childhood Trauma, the HPA Axis and Psychiatric Illnesses: A Targeted Literature Synthesis (2022) · cites this paper as [46]
Cites
KRISHNAN, K. R. R., DORAISWAMY, P. M., LURIE, S. N., FIGIEL, G. S., HUSAIN, M. M., BOYKO, O. B., ELLINWOOD, E. H., & NEMEROFF, C. B. (1991) · The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism · doi:10.1210/jcem-72-2-256 · Cited by 232 · see citing works
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Kempton, M. J., Salvador, Z., Munafò, M. R., Geddes, J. R., Simmons, A., Frangou, S., & Williams, S. C. R. (2011) · Archives of General Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2011.60 · Cited by 886 · see citing works
Arnone, D., McIntosh, A. M., Ebmeier, K. P., Munafò, M. R., & Anderson, I. M. (2012) · European Neuropsychopharmacology · doi:10.1016/j.euroneuro.2011.05.003 · Cited by 495 · see citing works
Kunugi, H., Hori, H., Adachi, N., & Numakawa, T. (2010) · Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences · doi:10.1111/j.1440-1819.2010.02135.x · Cited by 200 · see citing works
Childhood Trauma, the HPA Axis and Psychiatric Illnesses: A Targeted Literature Synthesis
Murphy, F., Nasa, A., Cullinane, D., Raajakesary, K., Gazzaz, A., Sooknarine, V., Haines, M., Roman, E., Kelly, L., O'Neill, A., et al. (2022) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2022.748372 · Cited by 181 · see citing works
“Pituitary volume changes have been reported in MDD with both increased (46, 47), reduced or not change in volume reported (48–50).”
BackgroundPariante, C. M., Dazzan, P., Danese, A., Morgan, K. D., Brudaglio, F., Morgan, C., Fearon, P., Orr, K., Hutchinson, G., Pantelis, C., et al. (2005) · Neuropsychopharmacology · doi:10.1038/sj.npp.1300766 · Cited by 152 · see citing works
Fallucca, E., MacMaster, F. P., Haddad, J., Easter, P., Dick, R., May, G., Stanley, J. A., Rix, C., & Rosenberg, D. R. (2011) · Archives of General Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2011.36 · Cited by 113 · see citing works
Self-citationIncreased Activity Imbalance in Fronto-Subcortical Circuits in Adolescents with Major Depression
Jiao, Q., Ding, J., Lu, G., Su, L., Zhang, Z., Wang, Z., Zhong, Y., Li, K., Ding, M., & Liu, Y. (2011) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0025159 · Cited by 83 · see citing works
Pituitary volume in psychosis: the first review of the evidence
Pariante, C. M. (2008) · Journal of Psychopharmacology · doi:10.1177/0269881107084020 · Cited by 73 · see citing works
Development and sexual dimorphism of the pituitary gland
MacMaster, F. P., Keshavan, M., Mirza, Y., Carrey, N., Upadhyaya, A. R., El-Sheikh, R., Buhagiar, C. J., Taormina, S. P., Boyd, C., Lynch, M., et al. (2007) · Life Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.lfs.2006.11.040 · Cited by 63 · see citing works
Self-citationAntidepressants and the adolescent brain
Cousins, L., & Goodyer, I. M. (2015) · Journal of Psychopharmacology · doi:10.1177/0269881115573542 · Cited by 61 · see citing works
Increased pituitary volume in schizophrenia spectrum disorders
Takahashi, T., Suzuki, M., Velakoulis, D., Lorenzetti, V., Soulsby, B., Zhou, S.-Y., Nakamura, K., Seto, H., Kurachi, M., & Pantelis, C. (2009) · Schizophrenia Research · doi:10.1016/j.schres.2008.12.016 · Cited by 37 · see citing works
Garner, B., Pariante, C. M., Wood, S. J., Velakoulis, D., Phillips, L., Soulsby, B., Brewer, W. J., Smith, D. J., Dazzan, P., Berger, G. E., et al. (2005) · Biological Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2005.04.018 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
- Authors
- MacMaster, F. P., & Kusumakar, V.
- Affiliations
- Dalhousie University (CA)
- Corresponding author
- MacMaster, Frank P
- ORCID
- MacMaster, Frank P
- Venue
- Journal of Psychiatric Research
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2004-05
- Volume
- 38
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 231-236
- ISSN
- 0022-3956 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W1973651005
- Cited by
- 85
- References
- 1
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 4 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 5 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 1 · 2015: 7 · 2014: 6 · 2013: 2 · 2012: 5
- FWCI
- 1.89
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Psychiatric Research (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- NPARC (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pharmacology › Treatment of Major Depression
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- Keywords
- pituitary gland volume, adolescent depression, pituitary enlargement, neuroendocrine dysfunction, neurodevelopmental abnormalities, pituitary MRI
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adolescent Behavior, Depressive Disorder, Female, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Pituitary Gland, Severity of Illness Index, Age of Onset
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