Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Study of Deficits in Hippocampal Structure in Fire Victims with Recent-Onset Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

• Published in: Canadian journal of psychiatry Vol. 51; no. 7; pp. 431 - 437
• Main Authors: Li, Lingjiang, Chen, Shulin, Liu, Jun, Zhang, Jinli, He, Zhong, Lin, Xu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.06.2006; Canadian Psychiatric Association; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Adult; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Anxiety disorders. Neuroses; Aspartic Acid - analogs & derivatives; Aspartic Acid - metabolism; Biological and medical sciences; Brain; China; Creatinine - metabolism; Dominance, Cerebral - physiology; Energy Metabolism - physiology; Female; Fires; Follow-Up Studies; Hippocampus - pathology; Humans; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; Male; Mathematical Computing; Medical sciences; Methods; NMR; Nuclear magnetic resonance; Post traumatic stress disorder; Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Reference Values; Spectrum analysis; Statistics as Topic; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - diagnosis; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - physiopathology; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - psychology; Studies; Volume; China; magnetic resonance spectroscopy; magnetic resonance imaging; hippocampus; posttraumatic stress disorder; Posttraumatic syndrome; Central nervous system; Anxiety disorder; Medical imagery; Posttraumatic stress disorder; Nuclear magnetic resonance imaging; Hippocampus; Stress; Encephalon; Victim
• ISSN: 0706-7437; 1497-0015
• DOI: 10.1177/070674370605100704

Objective: To explore hippocampal structural abnormalities in fire victims with recent-onset posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Method: We compared 12 patients with recent-onset PTSD diagnosed according to DSM-IV criteria 6 to 8 months after a major fire with 12 individuals without PTSD who were victims of the same fire accident. Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) were combined to examine hippocampal structural abnormalities in patients with recent-onset PTSD. Results: Results of VBM showed that the grey matter density of the left hippocampus was lower in the group with PTSD than it was in the group without PTSD. Results of MRS showed that the ratio of N-acetyl asparate and creatine in the left hippocampus was significantly lower in patients with PTSD than in control subjects. Conclusion: Patients with recent-onset PTSD had hippocampal structural abnormalities.