• Frank P MacMaster and Vivek Kusumakar.
• Institute for Biodiagnostics (Atlantic), National Research Council, Halifax, Canada. fpmacmas@dal.ca
• Bmc Med. 2004 Jan 29; 2: 22.

BackgroundAbnormalities in limbic structures have been implicated in major depressive disorder (MDD). Although MDD is as common in adolescence as in adulthood, few studies have examined youth near illness onset in order to determine the possible influence of atypical development on the pathophysiology of this disorder.MethodsHippocampal volumes were measured in 17 MDD subjects (age = 16.67 +/- 1.83 years [mean +/- SD]; range = 13 - 18 years) and 17 age- and sex-matched healthy controls (16.23 +/- 1.61 years [mean +/- SD]; 13 - 18 years) using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).ResultsAn analysis of covariance revealed a significant difference between MDD and control subjects (F = 8.66, df = 1, 29, P = 0.006). This was more strongly localized to the left hippocampus (P = 0.001) than the right hippocampus (P = 0.047).ConclusionsOur findings provide new evidence of abnormalities in the hippocampus in early onset depression. However, our results should be considered preliminary given the small sample size studied.

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