Biophysical Abnormalities in Normal-Appearing White Matter and Subcortical Nuclei in Late-Life Major Depression: A Magnetization Transfer Imaging Study

Shaolin Yang¹, ², Olusola Ajilore¹, Minjie Wu¹, Melissa Lamar¹, Anand Kumar¹

Neuroanatomical abnormalities have been identified in patients with late-life mood disorders, including decrease in focal brain volumes and increase in white matter hyperintensity lesions. This study examined the integrity of macromolecular protein pool in normal-appearing white matter and subcortical nuclei by magnetization transfer imaging. Compared with control subjects, patients with late-life major depression had significantly lower magnetization transfer ratios in the genu of corpus callosum and the right head of caudate. These findings suggest late-life major depression is associated with compromised macromolecular proteins in white matter and subcortical nuclei and may have implications for the pathophysiology of late-life major depression.