Background
Previous structural magnetic resonance (MR) research in patients with posttraumatic
stress disorder (PTSD) has found smaller hippocampal volumes in patients compared
with control subjects. These studies have mostly involved subjects who have had PTSD
for a number of years, such as war veterans or adult survivors of childhood abuse.
Patients with recent-onset PTSD have rarely been investigated. To our knowledge only
one other study has investigated such a group. The aim of this study was to compare
hippocampal volumes of patients with recent onset PTSD and nontrauma-exposed control
subjects.
Methods
Fifteen patients with PTSD, recruited from an accident and emergency department, were
compared with 11, non-trauma-exposed, healthy control subjects. Patients underwent
a structural MR scan soon after trauma (mean time = 158 ± 41 days). Entire brain volumes,
voxel size 1 × 1 × 1 mm, were acquired for each subject. Point counting and stereology
were used to measure the hippocampal and amygdala volume of each subject.
Results
Right-sided hippocampal volume was significantly smaller in PTSD patients than control
subjects after controlling for effects of whole brain volume and age. Neither left
nor total hippocampal volume were significantly smaller in the PTSD group after correction.
Whole brain volume was also found to be significantly smaller in patients. There were
no differences in amygdala or white matter volumes between patients and control subjects.
Conclusions
This result replicates previous findings of smaller hippocampal volumes in PTSD patients,
but in an underinvestigated population, suggesting that either smaller hippocampal
volume is a predisposing factor in the development of PTSD or that damage occurs within
months of trauma, rather than a number of years. Either of these two hypotheses have
significant implications for the treatment of PTSD. For instance, if it could be shown
that screening for hippocampal volume may, in some cases, predict those likely to
develop clinical PTSD.
Key words
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Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
September 15,
2004
Received in revised form:
September 10,
2004
Received:
March 22,
2004
Identification
Copyright
© 2004 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
