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C Na

Publications and source records attributed to C Na.

9 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Magnetic resonance imaging of the caudate nuclei in depression. Preliminary observations.

A role of the caudate nucleus in depression has been suggested from relevant clinical conditions, such as patients with Huntington's disease or caudate infarcts, as well as animal studies. Correlations of caudate nucleus disease with depressive symptoms have been limited to autopsy studies and cases of gross pathological disorder, such as large infarcts. We used serial axial high-field magnetic resonance images and an unbiased stereological technique to estimate the volumes of the caudate nuclei in 50 patients who met DSM-III criteria for major depression (23 men, 48.3 +/- 17 years old) in comparison with 50 age- and gender-matched normal controls free of major neurological and psychiatric disorders. Depressed patients had smaller caudate nucleus volumes (5.2 +/- 1.6 cm3) compared with controls (6.2 +/- 1.7 cm3). Right and left caudate nucleus volumes were smaller in depressed patients compared with controls. Age was negatively correlated with caudate nucleus volumes in depressed patients as well as in controls. Caudate nucleus volumes in depressed patients were inversely correlated with the bicaudate and bifrontal indices. These results may be the first demonstration of diminished caudate nucleus volumes in depression and suggest a role for the caudate nucleus in the pathogenesis of major depression.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1992

Posterior fossa abnormalities in major depression: a controlled magnetic resonance imaging study.

High-field magnetic resonance (MR) images were used to study posterior fossa morphology in 27 patients with major depression and 36 normal control subjects. Depressed patients demonstrated smaller brain stem and cerebellar vermis than controls. These differences were highly significant for the anterior cerebellar vermis and medulla. There was also a striking age-related decline in midbrain size in depressed patients as well as in controls. Our results are consistent with several lines of evidence implicating a role for the cerebellar vermis in affective disorders and, in addition, provide the first MR documentation of the differential effects of aging on posterior fossa morphology in normal subjects compared with patients with major depression.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Magnetic resonance imaging in biological psychiatry.

1. Although clinicians have been quick to adopt magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the search for brain pathology in psychiatric disorders, the clinical utility of MRI is only now being well defined. 2. Numerous past computerized tomography or post-mortem tissue reports in patients with schizophrenia, affective disorders, dementia, autism, and many other psychiatric illnesses have suggested neuroanatomical substrates for these disorders. However, these techniques have several limitations. 3. The advent of MRI has allowed a high resolution method for examining the brain in vivo. It is important for psychiatrists to know the clinical utility, and the advantages/disadvantages of MR compared with CT. 4. In this article, the authors review the relevant MR literature with some illustrative cases where MRI provided clinically useful information. Recent advances in MRI technology that will have future applications in psychiatry are also discussed.

Aged↗
PubMed1991

A magnetic resonance imaging study of putamen nuclei in major depression.

The basal ganglia are recognized as putative mediators of certain cognitive and behavioral symptoms of major depression. Moreover, patients with basal ganglia lesions have repeatedly exhibited significant affective symptomatology, including apathy, depressive mood, and psychosis. Using high resolution, axial T2 intermediate magnetic resonance images, and a systematic sampling stereologic method, we assessed putamen nuclei volumes in 41 patients with major depression (DSM-III) and 44 healthy volunteer controls of similar age. Depressed patients had significantly smaller putamen nuclei compared with controls. Age was negatively correlated with putamen size in both groups. These results are the first demonstration of diminished putamen volumes in depression and further support a role for basal ganglia structures in the etiopathogenesis of depression.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Hippocampal abnormalities in depression.

A quantitative magnetic resonance imaging study of regional brain T1 spin-lattice relaxation times in 29 normal volunteers and in 20 patients with major depression revealed significantly shortened T1 relaxation times for the hippocampus in depressed patients. These differences were particularly prominent in elderly depressed patients. T1 relaxation times are reflective of the content and macromolecular environment of tissue water protons; shorter hippocampal T1 values may reflect differences in the content or organizational properties of hippocampal water protons. These findings are consistent with several lines of evidence that have implicated a role for the hippocampus in the regulation of mood and in the pathophysiology of the stress response, and they suggest that major depression may be associated with biophysical tissue changes in the aging hippocampus.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

MR assessment of pituitary gland morphology in healthy volunteers: age- and gender-related differences.

PURPOSE AND METHODS: High-field MR images at 1.5 T were used to characterize the effects of age and gender on pituitary size and shape in a sample of 71 adult volunteers (40 females), aged 21 to 82 years. FINDINGS: For all subjects, age was inversely correlated with pituitary height (r = -.43, P less than .0002) and cross-sectional area (r = -.35, P less than .0028). Age-specific gender differences were also present in pituitary height and area. A convex upper pituitary margin was more common in females (P = .002) and younger subjects (P = .009). CONCLUSIONS: This study confirms that aging is accompanied by gender-specific changes in pituitary size and shape, and provides normative data that may facilitate evaluation of the pituitary gland in neuroendocrine disorders.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Morphometric changes of the human midbrain with normal aging: MR and stereologic findings.

PURPOSE: To determine the effects of age on estimated midbrain volume. PATIENTS AND METHODS: T2-weighted MR imaging and an unbiased stereologic method were used in 75 volunteers; the subjects ranged in age from 21 to 82 years and were without any significant neurologic or psychiatric disorders. RESULTS: Age was negatively correlated with estimated midbrain volume (R = -.39, P less than .0005), with the anteroposterior diameter through the substantia nigra (R = -.33, P less than .004) and with the interpeduncular distance (R = -.24, P less than .04). The linear measurements for the right and left side were almost identical. These findings are consistent with prior reports of nigrostriatal degeneration with increasing age. Furthermore, they suggest a close symmetry of age-related changes between the right and left side in normal subjects. CONCLUSIONS: Volumetric and linear measurements of midbrain morphology with MR may prove useful in the investigation of neurologic disorders such as Parkinson disease.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Bicaudate index on magnetic resonance imaging: effects of normal aging.

The bicaudate and bifrontal indices have been used in prior computed tomographic studies to investigate atrophy of the caudate nuclei in patients with Huntington's chorea and cerebral atrophy. However, the relationship between these indices and caudate volume has not been documented previously. In this study, we used high-field magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to determine the effects of normal aging on the bicaudate and bifrontal indices and to study the relationship between these indices and caudate volume. The subjects were 49 normal volunteers, aged 22 to 82 years, who were without any significant neurologic or psychiatric disorders. Age was positively correlated with bicaudate index (r = .59; P < .0001) and bifrontal index (r = .40; P < .0047). Age was negatively correlated with caudate nuclei volume (r = -.47; P < .0005). Caudate volume was negatively correlated with bicaudate (r = -.27; P < .06) and bifrontal (r = -.31; P < .03) indices. These findings are consistent with prior reports of caudate nuclei degeneration with increasing age. Linear and volumetric caudate measurements with MRI may prove useful in the investigation of caudate nuclei function in the neuromotor decline with normal aging and in disorders such as Huntington's chorea.

Adult↗