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Hippocampal volume, memory, and cortisol status in major depressive disorder: effects of treatment
Vythilingam M, Vermetten E, Anderson GM, Luckenbaugh D, Anderson ER, Snow J, Staib LH, Charney DS et al.. Biological psychiatry, 2004-07-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Background Depression has been linked to stress, memory deficits, and hypercortisolemia. However, the relationships between depression, hippocampal structure and function, and cortisol levels are unclear and the effects of antidepressant treatment on the measures are not well studied. Methods Whole hippocampal volume, performance on verbal and visual declarative memory function and cortisol status was evaluated in 38 subjects with major depressive disorder (MDD) and 33 healthy subjects. All measures were repeated in a subgroup (n = 22) of depressed patients after successful selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) treatment. Results Hippocampal volume was not significantly different between patients with untreated MMD and healthy subjects, after controlling for whole brain volume, age and gender. However, depressed subjects had significantly greater deficits in delayed memory and percent retention on the verbal portion of the Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised (WMS-R) compared with healthy subjects, without significant differences in visual memory, attention, vigilance, or distractibility. Baseline plasma or urinary free cortisol (UFC) was not related to either hippocampal volume or memory deficits. Successful treatment with antidepressants did not change hippocampal volume but did result in a significant improvement in memory function and a reduction in UFC excretion. Conclusions Medication-free nonelderly depressed outpatients without alcohol dependence or adverse experiences in childhood had normal hippocampal volume. Focal declarative memory deficits in depression supported localized hippocampal dysfunction in depressed patients. Treatment with antidepressants significantly improved memory and depression but did not alter hippocampal volume, suggesting that antidepressants may improve hippocampal function in the absence of detectable structural changes.
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APA 7th
Vythilingam, M., Vermetten, E., Anderson, G. M., Luckenbaugh, D., Anderson, E. R., Snow, J., et al. (2004). Hippocampal volume, memory, and cortisol status in major depressive disorder: effects of treatment. Biological psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2004.04.002
Vancouver
Vythilingam M, Vermetten E, Anderson GM, Luckenbaugh D, Anderson ER, Snow J, et al. Hippocampal volume, memory, and cortisol status in major depressive disorder: effects of treatment. Biological psychiatry. 2004. doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2004.04.002. PMID: 15231442.
BibTeX
@article{vythilingam2004-15231442,
author = {Vythilingam, M. and Vermetten, E. and Anderson, G. M. and Luckenbaugh, D. and Anderson, E. R. and Snow, J. and Staib, L. H. and Charney, D. S. and others},
title = {{Hippocampal volume, memory, and cortisol status in major depressive disorder: effects of treatment}},
journal = {Biological psychiatry},
year = {2004},
doi = {10.1016/j.biopsych.2004.04.002},
pmid = {15231442},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2004.04.002}
}
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Key findings
- Results Hippocampal volume was not significantly different between patients with untreated MMD and healthy subjects, after controlling for whole brain volume, age and gender.
- However, depressed subjects had significantly greater deficits in delayed memory and percent retention on the verbal portion of the Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised (WMS-R) compared with healthy subjects, without significant differences in visual memory, attention, vigilance, or distractibility.
- Successful treatment with antidepressants did not change hippocampal volume but did result in a significant improvement in memory function and a reduction in UFC excretion.
- Treatment with antidepressants significantly improved memory and depression but did not alter hippocampal volume, suggesting that antidepressants may improve hippocampal function in the absence of detectable structural changes.
Study details
- Participants22
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 43/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on journal's citation record, times cited, citations per year, impact for its field and year, cited by studies here, still being cited, senior author's track record, institution's track record and multi-centre collaboration, so those were left out: it earned 25 of the 58 points we could judge it on, which is 43 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Biological psychiatry) |
| Journal's citation record | — / 4 | No journal record from OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2004 — older than 20 years, still counted |
| Sample size | 1 / 4 | 22 participants |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | — / 7 | No citation count (not found in OpenAlex) — left out of this score |
| Citations per year | — / 5 | No citation count or no year — left out of this score |
| Impact for its field and year | — / 6 | No field-weighted citation impact (OpenAlex has none yet) — left out of this score |
| Cited by studies here | — / 6 | Not yet checked against this library's citation graph — left out of this score |
| Still being cited | — / 4 | No yearly citation counts — left out of this score |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | — / 3 | No institution listed in OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Multi-centre collaboration | — / 3 | Institutions not listed — left out of this score |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 15231442) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 25 / 58 | Scored on 11 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 25 of the 58 points we could judge it on is 43 out of 100. |
| Total | 43 / 100 | — |
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