Smaller pituitary volume in adult patients with obsessive–compulsive disorder

Aims:  Another structure in the obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) circuit may be the pituitary gland because of the fact that limbic–hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (LHPA) axis abnormality has been reported in patients with OCD. There has been only one prior study, however, concerning pituitary vol...

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Published in:Psychiatry and clinical neurosciences 2009-08, Vol.63 (4), p.516-520
Main Authors: Atmaca, Murad, Yildirim, Hanefi, Ozler, Sinan, Koc, Mustafa, Kara, Bilge, Sec, Semih
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Adult and adolescent clinical studies
Age Factors
Anxiety disorders. Neuroses
Atrophy - pathology
Biological and medical sciences
Female
Humans
Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System - pathology
Image Processing, Computer-Assisted
magnetic resonance imaging
Magnetic Resonance Imaging - statistics & numerical data
Male
Medical sciences
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder - diagnosis
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder - pathology
Obsessive-compulsive disorders
obsessive–compulsive disorder
pituitary
Pituitary Gland - pathology
Pituitary-Adrenal System - pathology
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
volume
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Summary:Aims:  Another structure in the obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) circuit may be the pituitary gland because of the fact that limbic–hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (LHPA) axis abnormality has been reported in patients with OCD. There has been only one prior study, however, concerning pituitary volumetry, in which the sample was a pediatric group. The purpose of the present study was therefore to investigate this in an adult OCD patient group using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Methods:  Pituitary volume was measured in 23 OCD patients and the same number of healthy control subjects. Volumetric measurements were made on T1‐weighted coronal MRI, with 2.40‐mm‐thick slices, at 1.5 T, and were done blindly. Results:  A statistically significantly smaller pituitary volume was found in OCD patients compared to healthy controls (age and intracranial volume as covariates). With regard to gender and diagnosis, there was a significant difference in pituitary gland volume (F = 4.18, P 
ISSN:1323-1316
1440-1819
DOI:10.1111/j.1440-1819.2009.01981.x