A MRI study on changes of hippocampal volumes and morphology in females with depressive episode

Objective To study the characteristics of the changes in hippocampcal volumes in female patients with major depressive disorder (MDD).Methods The volumes and layers of the entire hippocampus and its subunits were measured in 30 normal females and 30 MDD female patients with 3.0T magnetic resonance.Results (1) The average areas of each layer of the left hippocampal head in patients was less than that in the normal(P<0.01), while the layer number of the head was more than that in the normal(P<0.01).The layer number of bilateral hippocampal tail in patients were less than the normal (P=0.01).(2)The volume of bilateral hippocampus in females with MDD were less than control (P<0.05 ).The volume of hippocampcal tails were obviously less in patients than the normal (P<0.01 ).Conclusion It is suggested that the morphological changes in left hippocampal head and volume loss in hippocampal tail be in the female patients with MDD. Key words: Depressive disorder;  Hippocampus;  Magnetic resonance imaging