Cortical Alterations Are Associated with Depression in Subcortical Vascular Mild Cognitive Impairment Revealed by Surface-Based Morphometry

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Wang, Jianjun^{a; b; 1} | Lyu, Hanqing^{b; c; 1} | Chen, Jianxiang^{b; c} | Lin, Songjun^{a; b} | Zheng, Haotao^{a; b} | Li, Jinfang^{a; b} | Kong, Fanxin^{a; b} | Gao, Jinyun^{b; c} | Yu, Haibo^{b; d} | Hu, Yuanming^{b; c; *} | Guo, Zhouke^{a; b; *}

Affiliations: [a] Department of Neurology and Psychology, Shenzhen Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, Shenzhen, P. R. China | [b] Fourth Clinical Medical College, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Shenzhen, P. R. China | [c] Department of Radiology, Shenzhen Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, Shenzhen, P. R. China | [d] Department of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Shenzhen Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, Shenzhen, P. R. China

Correspondence: [*] Correspondence to: Prof. Zhouke Guo, Department of Neurology and Psychology, Shenzhen Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, Shenzhen 518033, P. R. China. Tel.: +86 755 88607548; E-mail: szzyygzk@126.com and Prof. Yuanming Hu, Department of Radiology, Shenzhen Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, Shenzhen 518033, P. R. China. Tel.: +86 755 83000267; E-mail: tomhu163@163.com.

Note: [1] These authors contributed equally to this work.

Abstract: Background:Late-life depression often coexists with vascular cognitive impairment and affects the quality of life for elders. However, little is known about cortical morphometric interactions between subcortical vascular mild cognitive impairment (svMCI) and concomitant mild depressive symptoms at the early stage. Objective:We aimed to investigate cortical alterations of svMCI with and without depressive symptoms and determine whether these parameters are associated with depression symptoms and/or cognitive impairments. Methods:Surface based morphometry was performed on 18 svMCI patients with depressive symptoms (svMCI + D), 16 svMCI patients without depressive symptoms (svMCI–D), and 23 normal controls (NC). Results:Compared to NC, both svMCI + D and svMCI–D patients exhibited significantly decreased surface area (SA) in many cortical areas. Interestingly, svMCI + D patients showed significantly increased rather than decreased SA in right lateral occipital gyrus (LOG.R), and a consistent trend of increased SA in these areas compared to svMCI–D. In addition, the svMCI + D showed increased gray matter volume of left pericalcarine (periCAL.L) than svMCI–D, whereas svMCI–D showed decreased gray matter volume of periCAL.L than NC. Further correlation analyses revealed that the SA of left superior temporal gyrus (STG.L) and right lateral orbital part of frontal gyrus (lorbFG.R) were significantly correlated with Hamilton depression rating scale of svMCI + D. Conclusion:In conclusion, these results extend our insight into svMCI and add weight to reevaluation of concomitant early stage depressive symptoms. Moreover, we suggest that LOG.R∖periCAL.L∖STG.L∖lorbFG.R might serve as sensitive and trait-dependent biomarkers to detect concomitant depressive symptoms in svMCI patients.

Keywords: Depression symptoms, gray matter volume, subcortical vascular mild cognitive impairment, surface-based morphometry, surface area

DOI: 10.3233/JAD-200156

Journal: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, vol. 78, no. 2, pp. 673-681, 2020