Temporal Lobe Volume in Geriatric Depressive Patients: A Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to measure and compare temporal lobe volumes of geriatric depressive patients and normal controls. Temporal lobe volume was measured with computerized volumetric technique using brain MRI films. METHOD: We studied 15 patients of 50 years or older with major depressive disorder (MDD) and 14 normal control subjects, measured temporal lobe volumes and cerebral volumes of both groups using semi-automated imaging analysis program from brain MRI films. A statistical analysis was done to compare right and left volumes in both groups and to compare right and left volumes in each group. The comparison of right and left volumes between early-onset MDD group and late-onset one and correlation with duration of illness of MDD group were taken too. RESULTS: There was no difference in right and left temporal volumes between MDD group and normal control (right p=.760, left p=.219) but there was statistically significant difference between right and left volume in normal controls who have larger right temporal lobe volume than left temporal lobe volume (p=.002) compared to MDD patients who have no difference between right and left temporal lobe volume (p=.644). In MDD patients, there were no difference between early-onset MDD group and late-onset one and no correlation of volume with duration of illness. CONCLUSION: This study aiming at identifying the structural change of brain in geriatric depressive patients did not reveal any difference of temporal lobe volume between MDD patients and normal controls, and between right and left temporal lobe in geriatric MDD patients. The loss of laterality in patients was partially identical with the previous results of other studies, so it needs further following studies which have larger size of subjcets with various implicated variables and more fine brain structures.