Imaging Technique Shows Brain Anatomy Change in Women with Multiple Sclerosis, Depression
"Newswise — LOS ANGELES (Jan. 30, 2014) – A multicenter research team led by Cedars-Sinai neurologist Nancy Sicotte, MD, an expert in multiple sclerosis and state-of-the-art imaging techniques, used a new, automated technique to identify shrinkage of a mood-regulating brain structure in a large sample of women with MS who also have a certain type of depression. In the study, women with MS and symptoms of “depressive affect” – such as depressed mood and loss of interest – were found to have reduced size of the right hippocampus. The left hippocampus remained unchanged, and other types of depression – such as vegetative depression, which can bring about extreme fatigue – did not correlate with hippocampal size reduction, according to an article featured on the cover of the January 2014 issue of Human Brain Mapping."