Massimo
Filippi1, Federica Agosta1, Igor Petrovic2,
Sebastiano Galantucci1, Vladana Spica2, Milica
Jecmenica2, Vladimir Kostic2
1Neuroimaging Research Unit, Institute
of Experimental Neurology, Division of Neuroscience, Scientific Institute and
University Hospital San Raffaele, Milan, Italy; 2Department of
Neurology, School of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Yugoslavia
VBM
was used to investigate whether specific patterns of gray (GM) and white
matter (WM) loss are associated with depression in 40 patients with
Parkinsons disease (PD). Twenty-four PD were diagnosed as non-depressed
(PD-NDep), and 16 as having depression (PD-Dep). Compared with PD-NDep,
PD-NDep showed WM loss in the right anterior cingulum and inferior
orbitofrontal (OF) region. In PD patients, Hamilton rating scale for
depression score correlated significantly with right inferior OF WM. The
pattern of brain atrophy in PD-Dep overlaps with the key regions involved in
major depressive disorders, suggesting an increased vulnerability of this
neural circuit in PD.
Keywords