Frontal Dysfunction Underlies Depression in Mild Cognitive Impairment: A FDG-PET Study.
- Author:
Hye Sook LEE
1
;
Il Han CHOO
;
Dong Young LEE
;
Jee Wook KIM
;
Eun Hyun SEO
;
Shin Gyeom KIM
;
Shin Young PARK
;
Ji Hye SHIN
;
Ki Woong KIM
;
Jong Inn WOO
Author Information
1. Department of Neuropsychiatry, College of Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea. selfpsy@snu.ac.kr
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords:
Mild cognitive impairment;
Depression;
Frontal;
Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography
- MeSH:
Aged;
Alzheimer Disease;
Brain;
Depression;
Glucose;
Humans;
Mild Cognitive Impairment;
Positron-Emission Tomography
- From:Psychiatry Investigation
2010;7(3):208-214
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
OBJECTIVE: Depression is a very common symptom in people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a preclinical stage of Alzheimer's disease (AD), and in those with clinically evident AD. Moreover, MCI individuals with depression show a higher conversion rate to clinical AD than those without depression. This study aimed to elucidate the functional neuroanatomical substrate of depression in MCI. METHODS: Thirty-six patients were recruited from a University Hospital-based cohort; 18 of these subjects had MCI with depression (MCI_D); the remaining 18 subjects were age- and gender-matched, and had MCI with no depression (MCI_ND). For comparison, 16 cognitively normal (CN) elderly individuals were also included. All subjects underwent Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography (FDG-PET) scanning and regional cerebral glucose metabolism was compared among the three groups by a voxel-based method. The relationship between severity of depression, as measured by Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD) scores, and glucose metabolism was also investigated. RESULTS: MCI_D showed lower glucose metabolism in the right superior frontal gyrus than MCI_ND. There was a significant negative correlation between HRSD score and glucose metabolism at the same frontal region for overall MCI subjects. When compared with CN, both MCI_D and MCI_ND showed decreased glucose metabolism in the precuneus, while MCI_D had, in addition, reduced metabolism in other diffuse brain regions. CONCLUSION: Given previous observations on depression in AD, our results suggest that functional disruption of the frontal region, known to be associated with primary or other secondary depression, underlies depression in preclinical AD as well as clinically evident AD.
