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Healthy first-degree relatives of patients with major depression are at an elevated risk of developing depression, and regional cerebral blood flow (CBF) alterations are observed in patients with depression. Therefore, in a 33-month follow-up study, we used arterial spin labeling-magnetic resonance imaging (ASL-MRI) to investigate quantitative CBF before and after the diagnosis of depression in healthy young adults with and without first-degree relatives with major depression (FH + and FH-, respectively). In cross-sectional and longitudinal CBF comparisons, CBF in the right amygdala was increased or decreased. Additionally, a significant correlation was observed between the altered CBF in the right amygdala and the scores on the 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) in the FH + group. Furthermore, logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic curve analyses showed that increased CBF in the right amygdala at baseline predicted the subsequent onset of depression in the FH + group. Our results suggest that among healthy young adults with a familial risk of depression, those who exhibit increased CBF in the amygdala are susceptible to developing this disease.

Background: The hippocampus and amygdala exhibit structural and functional alterations in patients with depression. The objective of this study was to investigate the structural and functional relationships between these core regions., Methods: Based on the severity of their condition, 60 patients and 20 healthy controls were equally divided into four groups (mild group, moderate group, major group and health controls group), scanned by T1-MR, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), and susceptibility weighted imaging (SWI). Structural image, BOLD image, and SWI image were collected for processing and analysis. The characteristics of the depression and controls were checked by analysis of variance test, and the difference between groups was checked by Dunnett's test., Results: The volume of hippocampus and amygdala varied with the severity of the condition. The signal obtained under the stimulation of negative events was linearly decreased in the mild, moderate and major groups revealed by fMRI. The length and diameter of the lateral ventricle vein was reduced in the mild group, whereas the number of branches increased. In the moderate and major groups, the reduction in the length, diameter and increase in the number of branches of the lateral ventricle vein were greater., Conclusion: The alterations of the volume, fMRI, and cerebral veins in these core regions may account for the causal relationship between structure and function.

Background: Transient depressive state (TDS) is a transient, negative emotional state caused by certain events or situations. Because of the similarity in depressive symptoms between depression and TDS that arise within 2 weeks of their onset, it is difficult to distinguish TDS from depression. The aims of the present study were to investigate the application value of selected serum indicators in the differential diagnosis of geriatric depression and TDS in the early stage and to provide evidence for treatment. Patients and methods: In this study, a total of 274 elderly patients were divided into the depression group (n=144) and the TDS group (n=130). All participants' serum samples were collected, and 9 selected serum indicators were analyzed. Afterward, 90 patients with depression and 90 patients with TDS were used to build the diagnostic model. A binary logistic regression analysis was used to establish regression models, and the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was drawn. Finally, another 54 patients with depression and 40 patients with TDS were used to validate our model. Results: For the 9 screening serum indicators, the 3 serum indicators selected to build the regression model were BDNF (P=0.001), IL-1946 (P<0.001), and cortisol (P<0.001). The regression equation was Y = 1/[1 + e-(-16.258 - 0.018 (BDNF) + 0.256 (IL-1946) + 0.093 (Cortisol))], and the ROC curve of combined detection was 0.926. The diagnostic rate of the logistic model was 89.36%. Conclusion: The logistic regression model and ROC curves based on serum levels of BDNF, IL-1β, and cortisol could distinguish depression from TDS in early stage, which could provide assistance to the differential diagnosis of geriatric depression and TDS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]