A voxel-based meta-analysis comparing medication-naive patients of major depression with treated longer-term ill cases

Jing Jiang; Lei Li; Jinping Lin; Xinyu Hu; Youjin Zhao; John A Sweeney; Qiyong Gong

doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104991

A voxel-based meta-analysis comparing medication-naive patients of major depression with treated longer-term ill cases

Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2023 Jan:144:104991. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104991. Epub 2022 Dec 5.

Authors

Jing Jiang¹, Lei Li², Jinping Lin¹, Xinyu Hu³, Youjin Zhao², John A Sweeney⁴, Qiyong Gong⁵

Affiliations

¹ Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Department of Radiology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, Sichuan, China; Research Unit of Psychoradiology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Chengdu 610041, Sichuan, China.
² Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Department of Radiology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, Sichuan, China; Functional and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, Sichuan, China.
³ Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Department of Radiology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, Sichuan, China.
⁴ Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Department of Radiology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, Sichuan, China; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH 45219, USA.
⁵ Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Department of Radiology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, Sichuan, China; Department of Radiology, West China Xiamen Hospital of Sichuan University, Xiamen 361021, Fujian, China. Electronic address: qiyonggong@hmrrc.org.cn.

PMID: 36476776
DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104991

Abstract

Structural neuroimaging studies have identified brain areas implicated in the pathogenesis of major depressive disorder (MDD). However, findings have been inconsistent, potentially due to variable illness duration and effects of antidepressant treatment. Using a meta-analytic approach, we compared gray matter (GM) volumes in patients grouped by medication status (naïve and treated) and illness duration (early course and long-term ill) to identify potential treatment and illness duration effects on brain structure. A total of 70 studies were included, including 3682 patients and 3469 controls. The pooled analysis found frontal, temporal and limbic regions with decreased GM volume in MDD patients. Additional analyses indicated that larger GM volume in the right striatum and smaller GM volume in the right precuneus are likely to be associated with drug effects, while smaller GM volume in the right temporal gyrus may correlate with longer illness duration. Similar GM decreases in bilateral medial frontal cortex between patient subgroups suggest that this alteration may persist over the course of illness and drug treatment.

Keywords: Gray matter; Major depressive disorder; Meta-analysis; Psychoradiology; Voxel-based morphometry.

Publication types

Meta-Analysis
Review
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Brain / diagnostic imaging
Brain / pathology
Depression
Depressive Disorder, Major* / diagnostic imaging
Depressive Disorder, Major* / drug therapy
Depressive Disorder, Major* / pathology
Gray Matter / diagnostic imaging
Gray Matter / pathology
Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging / methods