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Decreased Brain Ventricular Volume in Psychiatric Inpatients with Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor Treatment.
P K Bolin1,2,3, S N Gosnell1,4, K Brandel-Ankrapp4
1Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
Chronic Stress (Thousand Oaks, Calif.)
|July 21, 2022
Summary
Treatment with serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SRI) was linked to reduced brain ventricle size in psychiatric patients. This suggests potential structural brain changes with SRI therapy, offering new insights into psychiatric treatment effectiveness.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychiatry
- Radiology
Background:
- Enlarged brain ventricles are observed in neuropsychiatric disorders and aging.
- The impact of psychiatric treatment on cerebral ventricular volume is understudied.
- This study investigates if serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SRI) reduce ventricular volume in patients.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine if psychiatric inpatients on SRI medication show a decrease in cerebral ventricular volume.
- To compare ventricular volume changes between patients taking SRIs and those not taking them.
Main Methods:
- Two MRI scans were performed on psychiatric inpatients approximately 4 weeks apart.
- FreeSurfer software quantified brain volumetric features, with ventricular volumes normalized by estimated total intracranial volume (eTIV).
- ANOVA analyzed ventricular volume differences; clinical data (depression, anxiety) were collected concurrently.
Main Results:
- Patients consistently taking SRIs (n=44) showed significant reductions in lateral ventricular volumes.
- Third ventricular volume reductions approached statistical significance (p=0.068) in the SRI group.
- Patients not taking SRIs (n=25) exhibited no significant changes in ventricular volumes; SRI+ group showed normalized ventricular sizes compared to controls.
Conclusions:
- Serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SRI) treatment is associated with decreased brain ventricle volume.
- This suggests that SRI therapy may lead to structural brain changes in psychiatric patients.
- SRI treatment normalized ventricular volumes, bringing them closer to those observed in healthy individuals.
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