A Comparative Study of Pituitary Volume Variations in Mri in Acute Onset of Psychiatric Conditions
Introduction: The growing belief that endocrine abnormalities may underlie many mental conditions has led to increased use of imaging and hormonal assays in patients attending to psychiatric OPDs. People who are in an acute phase of a psychiatric disorder show Hypothalamic Pituitary Adrenal (HP...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
JCDR Research and Publications Private Limited
2017-02-01
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| Series: | Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://jcdr.net/articles/PDF/9330/23585_CE[Ra1]_F(RK)_PF1(SRI_RK)_PFA(RK)_PF2(P_PC)_PF3(AG_OM).pdf |
| Summary: | Introduction: The growing belief that endocrine abnormalities
may underlie many mental conditions has led to increased
use of imaging and hormonal assays in patients attending
to psychiatric OPDs. People who are in an acute phase of a
psychiatric disorder show Hypothalamic Pituitary Adrenal
(HPA) axis hyperactivity, but the precise underlying central
mechanisms are unclear.
Aim: To assess the pituitary gland volume variations in patients
presenting with new onset acute psychiatric illness in comparison
with age and gender matched controls by using MRI.
Materials and Methods: The study included 50 patients, with
symptoms of acute psychiatric illness presenting within one
month of onset of illness and 50 age and gender matched
healthy controls. Both patients and controls were made to
undergo MRI of the Brain. A 0.9 mm slices of entire brain were
obtained by 3 dimensional T1 weighted sequence. Pituitary
gland was traced in all sagittal slices. Anterior pituitary and
posterior pituitary bright spot were measured separately in
each slice. Volume of the pituitary (in cubic centimetre- cm3
)
was calculated by summing areas. Significance of variations in
pituitary gland volumes was compared between the cases and
controls using Analysis of Covariance (ANOVA).
Results: There were significantly larger pituitary gland volumes
in the cases than the controls, irrespective of psychiatric
diagnosis (ANOVA, f=15.56; p=0.0002). Pituitary volumes in
cases were 15.36% (0.73 cm3
) higher than in controls.
Conclusion: There is a strong likelihood of HPA axis overactivity
during initial phase of all mental disorders along with increased
pituitary gland volumes. Further studies including hormonal
assays and correlation with imaging are likely to provide further
insight into neuroanatomical and pathological basis of psychiatric
disorders. |
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| ISSN: | 2249-782X 0973-709X |