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Amygdala volume in patients receiving chronic corticosteroid therapy
E Sherwood Brown1, Dixie J Woolston, Alan B Frol
1Psychoneuroendocrine Research Program, Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas 75390-8849, USA. Sherwood.Brown@UTSouthwestern.edu
Biological Psychiatry
|November 6, 2007
Summary
Long-term corticosteroid use, like prednisone, was linked to reduced amygdala volume in patients. This brain structure, crucial for stress response, showed volume changes correlating with therapy duration.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Endocrinology
- Radiology
Background:
- Exogenous corticosteroids are known to reduce hippocampal volume and impair memory.
- The amygdala, integral to the stress response and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, has not been studied in relation to corticosteroid exposure.
- This study investigates the impact of chronic corticosteroid therapy on amygdala volume.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess amygdala volume in patients undergoing long-term corticosteroid therapy.
- To compare amygdala volume between corticosteroid-treated patients and a control group.
- To explore correlations between amygdala volume, age, and corticosteroid dosage/duration.
Main Methods:
- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to assess amygdala volume in 15 patients on prednisone and 13 control subjects.
- Amygdala volume was manually traced and analyzed using a two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA).
- Pearson's correlation coefficient was employed to examine relationships between amygdala volume, age, and corticosteroid exposure parameters.
Main Results:
- Patients receiving chronic corticosteroid therapy exhibited significantly smaller amygdala volumes compared to control subjects.
- A significant correlation was found between right amygdala volume and age in control subjects.
- In patients, right amygdala volume showed a significant correlation with the duration of corticosteroid therapy.
Conclusions:
- Chronic corticosteroid therapy is associated with reduced amygdala volumes.
- The duration of corticosteroid therapy correlates with amygdala volume reduction.
- These findings suggest that corticosteroids may impact amygdala structure, similar to their known effects on the hippocampus.
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