Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-7cvxr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T02:38:20.041Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Brain alterations in depression

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 September 2015

Witte J.G. Hoogendijk*
Affiliation:
Netherlands Institute for Brain Research, Graduate School Neurosciences Amsterdam, The Netherlands Research Institute Neurosciences, Free University, Faculty of Medicine, Dept. of Psychiatry, Valerius Hospital Graduate School Neurosciences Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Gerben Meynen
Affiliation:
Netherlands Institute for Brain Research, Graduate School Neurosciences Amsterdam, The Netherlands Research Institute Neurosciences, Free University, Faculty of Medicine, Dept. of Psychiatry, Valerius Hospital Graduate School Neurosciences Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Piet Eikelenboom
Affiliation:
Research Institute Neurosciences, Free University, Faculty of Medicine, Dept. of Psychiatry, Valerius Hospital Graduate School Neurosciences Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Dick F. Swaab
Affiliation:
Netherlands Institute for Brain Research, Graduate School Neurosciences Amsterdam, The Netherlands
*
Valeriuskliniek Valeriusplein 9 1075 BG Amsterdam, The Netherlands[email protected]

Summary

This article describes a number of studies by our research group to find brain structures that may be involved in the symptoms of idiopathic depression, depression in Alzheimer's disease and depression in Parkinson's disease. Until recently, idiopathic depression has generally been related to deficiencies of aminergic systems. In Alzheimer patients we found a strong decrease in the number of neurons in the locus coeruleus and brain noradrenaline concentrations, but in depressed Alzheimer patients we did not find an extra de crease. This is in agreement with the finding that there is no cell loss in the locus coeruleus in idiopathic depression. We did find, however, that the number of corticotropin-releasing hormone-, vasopressin- and oxytocin expressing neurons, the number of corticotropin-releasing hormone neurons co-expressing vasopressin and the amount of corticotropin-releasing hormone -mRNA in idiopathic depression were strongly increased in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus. This result supports the hypothesis on the pathogenetic involvement of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis in depression and is of clinical relevance, since it may provide a theoretical rationale for antidepressive therapy with CRH antagonists.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Scandinavian College of Neuropsychopharmacology 2000

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Literature

1.Merriam, AE, Aronson, MK, Gaston, P, et al.The psychiatric symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. J Am Geriatr Soc 1988;36:712.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
2.Cummings, JL. Depression and Parkinson's disease: a review. Am J Psychiatry 1992;149:443454.Google Scholar
3.Knesevich, JW, Martin, RL, Berg, L, et al.Preliminary report on affective symptoms in the early stages of senile dementia of the Alzheimer type. Am J Psychiatry 1983;140:233235.Google Scholar
4.Gotham, AM, Brown, RG, Marsden, CD. Depression in Parkinson's disease: a quantitative and qualitative analysis. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 1986;49:381389.Google Scholar
5.Ehmann, TS, Beninger, RJ, Gawel, MJ, et al.Depressive symptoms in Parkinson's disease: a comparison with disabled control subjects. J Geriatr Psychiatry Neurol 1990;3:39.Google Scholar
6.Dooneief, G, Mirabello, E, Bell, K, et al.An estimate of the incidence of depression in idiopathic Parkinson's disease. Arch Neurol 1992;49:305307.Google Scholar
7.Van Praag, HM. Depression. Lancet 1982;2:12591264.Google Scholar
8.Gottfries, CG, Adolfsson, R, Aquilonius, SM. Biochemical changes in dementia disorders of Alzheimer type (AD/SDAT). Neurobiol Aging 1983;4:261271.Google Scholar
9.Gaspar, P, Duyckaerts, C, Alvarez, C, et al.Alterations of dopaminergic and noradrenergic innervations in motor cortex in Parkinson's disease. Ann Neurol 1991;30:365374.Google Scholar
10.Rovner, BW, Broadhead, J, Spencer, M, et al.Depression and Alzheimer's disease. Am J Psychiatry 1989;146:350353.Google Scholar
11.Holsboer, F, Spengler, D, Heuser, I. The role of corticotropin-releasing hormone in the pathogenesis of Cushing's disease, anorexia nervosa, alcoholism, affective disorders and dementia. Brain Res 1992;93:385417.Google Scholar
12.Wirz-Justice, A. Biological Rhythms in mood disorders. In: Bloom, FE, Kupfer, DJ (eds). Psychopharmacology. New York, Raven Press, 1995, pp 9991019.Google Scholar
13.Steele, C, Rovner, B, Chase, GA, et al.Psychiatric symptoms and nursing home placement of patients with Alzheimer's disease. Am J Psychiatry 1990;147:10491051.Google Scholar
14.Zubenko, GS, Moossy, J. Major depression in primary dementia. Clinical and neuropathologic correlates. Arch Neurol 1988;45:11821186.Google Scholar
15.Zweig, RM, Ross, CA, Hedreen, JC, et al.The neuropathology of aminergic nuclei in Alzheimer's disease. Ann Neurol 1988;24:233242.Google Scholar
16.Forstl, H, Burns, A, Luthert, P, et al.Clinical and neuropathological correlates of depression in Alzheimer's disease. Psychol Med 1992;22:877884.Google Scholar
17.Zubenko, GS, Moossy, J, Kopp, U. Neurochemical correlates of major depression in primary dementia. Arch Neurol 1990;47:209214.Google Scholar
18.Klimek, V, Stockmeier, C, Overholser, J, et al.Reduced levels of norepinephrine transporters in the locus coeruleus in major depression. J Neurosci 1997;17:84518458.Google Scholar
19.Hoogendijk, WJG, Sommer, IEC, Pool, ChW, et al.Lack of Association Between Depression and Loss of Neurons in the Locus Coeruleus in Alzheimer's Disease. Arch Gen Psychiatry 1999;56:4551.Google Scholar
20.Hoogendijk, WJG, Feenstra, M, Botterblom, M, et al.Increased activity of surviving locus coeruleus neurons in Alzheimer's disease. Ann Neurol 1999;45:8291.Google Scholar
21.Hoogendijk, WJG, Pool, ChW, Troost, D, et al.Image assisted-assisted morphometry of the locus coeruleus in Alzheimers disease, Parkinsons disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Brain 1995;118:131143.Google Scholar
22.McKhann, G, Drachman, D, Folstein, Met al.Clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease: report of the NINCDS-ADRDA Work Group under the auspices of Department of Health and Human Services Task Force on Alzheimer's Disease. Neurol 1984;34:939944.Google Scholar
23.Alexopoulos, GS, Abrams, RC, Young, RC, et al.Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia. Biol Psychiatry 1988;23:271284.Google Scholar
24.Feenstra, MG, Kalsbeek, A, van Galen, H. Neonatal lesions of the ventral tegmental area affect monoaminergic responses to stress in the medial prefrontal cortex and other dopamine projection areas in adulthood. Brain Res 1992;596:169182.Google Scholar
25.Tilders, FJ, Schmidt, ED, de Goeij, DC. Phenotypic plasticity of CRF neurons during stress. Ann NY Acad Sei 1993;29:3952.Google Scholar
26.Van Londen, L, Goekoop, JG, van Kempen, GM, et al.Plasma levels of arginine vasopressin elevated in patients with major depression. Neuropsychopharmacol 1997;17:284292.Google Scholar
27.Raadsheer, FC, Hoogendijk, WJG, Stam, FC, et al.Increased numbers of corticotropin-releasing hormone expressing neurons in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus of depressed patients. Neuroendo-crinol 1994;60:436444.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
28.Raadsheer, FC, van Heerikhuize, JJ, Lucassen, PJ, et al.Corticotropin-releasing hormone mRNA levels in the paraventricular nucleus of patients with Alzheimer's disease and depression. Am J Psychiatry 1995;152:13721376.Google Scholar
29.Purba, JS, Hoogendijk, WJG, Hofman, MA, et al.Increased number of vasopressin neurons in the paraventricular nucleus of the human hypothalamus in depression. Arch Gen Psychiatry 1996;53:137143.Google Scholar
30.Hoogendijk, WJG, van Someren, EJW, Mirmiran, M, et al.Structural hypothalamic changes in relation to circadian rhythms and behavioral disturbances in Alzheimer's disease. Int Psychogeriatr 1996;8(Suppl. 3):245252.Google Scholar
31.Rabey, JM, Scharf, M, Oberman, Z, et al.Cortisol, ACTH, and beta-endorphin after dexamethasone administration in Parkinson's dementia. Biol Psychiatry 1990;27:581591.Google Scholar
32.Hoogendijk, WJG, Sommer, IEC, Ussingh, G, et al.Depression in Parkinson's disease: the impact of symptom overlap on prevalence. Psychosomatics 1998;39:416421.Google Scholar
33. de Vos, RA, Jansen, EN, Stam, FC, et al.Lewy body disease’: clinico-pathological correlations in 18 consecutive cases of Parkinson's disease with and without dementia. Clin Neurol Neurosurg 1995;97:1322.Google Scholar
34.American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 3rd Ed. Rev, Anonymous American Psychiatric Association, Washington, DC, 1987.Google Scholar
35.Hamilton, M. Development of a rating scale for primary depressive illness. Br J Soc Clin Psychol 1967;6:278296.Google Scholar
36.Folstein, MF, Folstein, SE, McHugh, PR. ‘Mini-mental state’. A practical method for grading the cognitive state of patients for the clinician. J Psychiatr Res 1975;12:189198.Google Scholar
37.Webster, DD. Critical analysis of the disability in Parkinson's disease. Mod Treat 1968;5:257282.Google Scholar
38.Hoogendijk, WJG, Purba, JS, Hofman, MA, et al.Depression does not affect the number of corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) neurons in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus in Parkinson patients. Biol Psychiatry 1998;43:913917.Google Scholar
39.Hoogendijk, WJG. Brain changes in depression: a combined prospective clinical and post-mortem study in depressed patients with or without Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease. Thesis. Vrije Universiteit Huisdrukkerij, 1998.Google Scholar
40.Liebsch, G, Montkowski, A, Holsboer, F, et al.Behavioural profiles of two Wistar rat lines selectively bred for high or low anxiety-related behaviour. Behav Brain Res 1998;94:301310.Google Scholar
41.Griebel, G, Perrault, G, Sanger, DJ. Characterization of the behavioral profile of the non-peptide CRF receptor antagonist CP-154,526 in anxiety models in rodents. Comparison with diazepam and buspirone. Psychopharmacol 1998;138:5566.Google Scholar
42.Mansbach, RS, Brooks, EN, Chen, YL. Antidepressant-like effects of CP-154,526, a selective CRF1 receptor antagonist. Eur J Pharmacol 1997;323:121126.Google Scholar
43.Holsboer, F. The rationale for corticotropin-releasing hormone receptor (CRH-R) antagonists to treat depression and anxiety. J Psychiatr Res 1999;33:181214.Google Scholar