Smaller pituitary volume in adult patients with obsessive–compulsive disorder

• Published in: Psychiatry and clinical neurosciences 2009-08, Vol.63 (4), p.516-520
• Main Authors: Atmaca, Murad, Yildirim, Hanefi, Ozler, Sinan, Koc, Mustafa, Kara, Bilge, Sec, Semih
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Age Factors; Anxiety disorders. Neuroses; Atrophy - pathology; Biological and medical sciences; Female; Humans; Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System - pathology; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; magnetic resonance imaging; Magnetic Resonance Imaging - statistics & numerical data; Male; Medical sciences; Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder - diagnosis; Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder - pathology; Obsessive-compulsive disorders; obsessive–compulsive disorder; pituitary; Pituitary Gland - pathology; Pituitary-Adrenal System - pathology; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; volume
• ISSN: 1323-1316; 1440-1819
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1440-1819.2009.01981.x

Aims:  Another structure in the obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) circuit may be the pituitary gland because of the fact that limbic–hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (LHPA) axis abnormality has been reported in patients with OCD. There has been only one prior study, however, concerning pituitary volumetry, in which the sample was a pediatric group. The purpose of the present study was therefore to investigate this in an adult OCD patient group using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Methods:  Pituitary volume was measured in 23 OCD patients and the same number of healthy control subjects. Volumetric measurements were made on T1‐weighted coronal MRI, with 2.40‐mm‐thick slices, at 1.5 T, and were done blindly. Results:  A statistically significantly smaller pituitary volume was found in OCD patients compared to healthy controls (age and intracranial volume as covariates). With regard to gender and diagnosis, there was a significant difference in pituitary gland volume (F = 4.18, P