GABA+ levels in postmenopausal women with mild-to-moderate depression: A preliminary study

It is increasingly being recognized that alterations of the GABAergic system are implicated in the pathophysiology of depression. This study aimed to explore in vivo gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) levels in the anterior cingulate cortex/medial prefrontal cortex (ACC/mPFC) and posterior-cingulate cortex (PCC) of postmenopausal women with depression using magnetic resonance spectroscopy (H-MRS).

Nineteen postmenopausal women with depression and thirteen healthy controls were enrolled in the study. All subjects underwent H-MRS of the ACC/mPFC and PCC using the "MEGA Point Resolved Spectroscopy Sequence" (MEGA-PRESS) technique. The severity of depression was assessed by 17-item Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD). Quantification of MRS data was performed using Gannet program. Differences of GABA+ levels from patients and controls were tested using one-way analysis of variance. Spearman correlation coefficients were used to evaluate the linear associations between GABA+ levels and HAMD scores, as well as estrogen levels.

Significantly lower GABA+ levels were detected in the ACC/mPFC of postmenopausal women with depression compared to healthy controls (P = 0.002). No significant correlations were found between 17-HAMD/14-HAMA and GABA+ levels, either in ACC/mPFC (P = 0.486; r = 0.170/P = 0.814; r = -0.058) or PCC (P = 0.887; r = 0.035/ P = 0.987; r = -0.004) in the patients; there is also no significant correlation between GABA+ levels and estrogen levels in patients group (ACC/mPFC: P = 0.629, r = -0.018; PCC: P = 0.861, r = 0.043).

Significantly lower GABA+ levels were found in the ACC/mPFC of postmenopausal women with depression, suggesting that the dysfunction of the GABAergic system may also be involved in the pathogenesis of depression in postmenopausal women.