Psychiatry research
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Psychiatry research · Jul 2012
Loss of entorhinal cortex and hippocampal volumes compared to whole brain volume in normal aging: the SMART-Medea study.
In non-demented elderly age-related decline in hippocampal volume has often been observed, but it is not clear if this loss is disproportionate relative to other brain tissue. Few studies examined age-related volume loss of the entorhinal cortex. We investigated the association of age with hippocampal and entorhinal cortex (ERC) volumes in a large sample of middle-aged and older persons without dementia. ⋯ However, no age-related decline in hippocampal volume relative to BV was observed (B per year older=0.005 ml; 95% CI -0.002 to 0.01). No age-related decline in ERC volume relative to ICV or BV was observed. In this population of nondemented patients with a history of vascular disease no age-related decline in entorhinal cortex volume was observed and although hippocampal volume decreased with age, it was not disproportionate relative to total brain volume.
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Psychiatry research · Jul 2012
No association between catechol-O-methyltransferase polymorphisms and neurotic disorders among mainland Chinese university students.
This study investigates the genetic association between catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene polymorphisms and neurotic disorders. Data were derived from a case-control association study of 255 undergraduates affected by neurotic disorders and 269 matched healthy undergraduate controls. ⋯ The eight tag SNPs on the COMT gene assessed were not associated with neurotic disorders. Our finding suggests that the COMT gene may not be a susceptibility gene for neurotic disorders.