Browsing by Author "Eker C."

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    No pituitary gland volume change in medication-free depressed patients
    (2008) Eker C.; Ovali G.Y.; Ozan E.; Eker O.D.; Kitis O.; Coburn K.; Gonul A.S.
    Increased serum cortisol levels and a hyperactive hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis have been proposed to play an important role in the pathophysiology of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). However, there are inconsistent results regarding pituitary gland volume (PGV), which is one of the key elements of the HPA axis evaluated by MRI in depressed patients. In this study, we analyzed the PGV of medication-free moderately depressed MDD patients (N = 34) and age and sex matched healthy controls (N = 39). PGV did not differ between MDD patients and healthy controls [mean volume ± S.D.; 0.76 ± 0.17 cm3 and 0.75 ± 0.14 cm3; ANCOVA, F1,69 = 1.25 p > 0.05; respectively]. Our results confirm that volumetric PGV changes are not crucial for depression pathophysiology among unmedicated, moderately depressed adults. © 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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    Correlation of serum BDNF levels with hippocampal volumes in first episode, medication-free depressed patients
    (2010) Eker C.; Kitis O.; Taneli F.; Eker O.D.; Ozan E.; Yucel K.; Coburn K.; Gonul A.S.
    The hippocampus seems to be affected in MDD, and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) has positive effects on neurogenesis within the hippocampus. Although there are inconsistencies among study results, a smaller hippocampal volume in depressed patients is thought to be related to the pathophysiology of the disease. We looked at the correlation between serum BDNF (sBDNF) levels and hippocampal volumes (HCV) of first-episode MDD patients (18 female, 7 male; mean age = 32.1 ± 9.3) and healthy controls (17 female, 5 male; mean age = 29.7 ± 6.4). Region of interest analysis was conducted on the images acquired via MRI. sBDNF levels and HCV correlated only in the MDD group (right: r = 0.46, P = 0.02; left: r = 0.47, P = 0.02); however, HCV did not differ between MDD patients and healthy controls (right: F = 2.45, df = 1.46, P > 0.05; left: F = 0.05, df = 1.46, P > 0.05). BDNF may be a factor underlying HCV differences between MDD and healthy control subjects, which become apparent as severe and multiple episodes are experienced. © 2010 Springer-Verlag.