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Structural brain plasticity and inflammation are independently related to changes in depressive symptoms six months after an index ECT course

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 January 2023

John O. Brooks III*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Jennifer L. Kruse
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Antoni Kubicki
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA Department of Neurology, Ahmanson-Lovelace Brain Mapping Center, Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Gerhard Hellemann
Affiliation:
University of Alabama, Birmingham, AL, USA
Randall T. Espinoza
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Michael R. Irwin
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Katherine L. Narr
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA Department of Neurology, Ahmanson-Lovelace Brain Mapping Center, Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
*
Author for correspondence: John O. Brooks, E-mail: john.brooks@ucla.edu

Abstract

Background

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is effective for treatment-resistant depression and leads to short-term structural brain changes and decreases in the inflammatory response. However, little is known about how brain structure and inflammation relate to the heterogeneity of treatment response in the months following an index ECT course.

Methods

A naturalistic six-month study following an index ECT course included 20 subjects with treatment-resistant depression. Upon conclusion of the index ECT course and again after six months, structural magnetic resonance imaging scans and peripheral inflammation measures [interleukin-6 (IL-6), IL-8, tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α), and C-reactive protein] were obtained. Voxel-based morphometry processed with the CAT-12 Toolbox was used to estimate changes in gray matter volume.

Results

Between the end of the index ECT course and the end of follow-up, we found four clusters of significant decreases in gray matter volume (p < 0.01, FWE) and no regions of increased volume. Decreased HAM-D scores were significantly related only to reduced IL-8 level. Decreased volume in one cluster, which included the right insula and Brodmann's Area 22, was related to increased HAM-D scores over six months. IL-8 levels did not mediate or moderate the relationship between volumetric change and depression.

Conclusions

Six months after an index ECT course, multiple regions of decreased gray matter volume were observed in a naturalistic setting. The independent relations between brain volume and inflammation to depressive symptoms suggest novel explanations of the heterogeneity of longer-term ECT treatment response.

Type
Original Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press

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