Abstract
Background: The role of testosterone (T) in the pathophysiology of affective disorders and anxiety is broadly supported. Evidence suggests that T has anxiolytic and antidepressant properties. One proposed route for the central effects of T is its interaction with the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) system. We explored the relationship between T levels and GABA+ levels in anterior-cingulate (ACC) and the posterior-cingulate (PCC) regions in depressed women, using magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS). Methods: Twenty-one depressed patients with regularly cycling who were not taking hormonal or psychotropic drugs were recruited. We assessed severity of depression using the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS). Blood samples were taken for quantification of free (FT) and total testosterone (TT) on the day of the magnetic resonance (MR) scan. We evaluated GABA+ levels in the PCC and ACC, using the Hadamard Encoding and Reconstruction of MEGA-Edited Spectroscopy (HERMES) sequence. Pearson correlations were used to evaluate the association between FT, TT, GABA+ concentrations, and HDRS scores. Results: TT and FT levels were positively correlated with GABA+ levels in the PCC. No correlation was observed between T levels and GABA+ levels in the ACC. The HDRS total scores correlated negatively with FT levels. Limitations: Limitations include the cross-sectional evaluation and the lack of a comparative healthy group. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that the potential anxiolytic and antidepressant properties of T are related to increased GABA+ levels in the PCC. This observation may contribute to increased understanding of the role of T in depressive and anxiety symptoms in women.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 143-149 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Journal of Affective Disorders |
| Volume | 242 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jan 1 2019 |
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Keywords
- GABA
- Major depressive disorder
- MR spectroscopy
- Testosterone
- Women
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Clinical Psychology
- Psychiatry and Mental health
Cite this
Testosterone is related to GABA+ levels in the posterior-cingulate in unmedicated depressed women during reproductive life. / Flores-Ramos, M.; Alcauter, S.; López-Titla, M.; Bernal-Santamaría, N.; Calva-Coraza, Edgar; Edden, Richard Anthony Edward.
In: Journal of Affective Disorders, Vol. 242, 01.01.2019, p. 143-149.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Testosterone is related to GABA+ levels in the posterior-cingulate in unmedicated depressed women during reproductive life
AU - Flores-Ramos, M.
AU - Alcauter, S.
AU - López-Titla, M.
AU - Bernal-Santamaría, N.
AU - Calva-Coraza, Edgar
AU - Edden, Richard Anthony Edward
PY - 2019/1/1
Y1 - 2019/1/1
N2 - Background: The role of testosterone (T) in the pathophysiology of affective disorders and anxiety is broadly supported. Evidence suggests that T has anxiolytic and antidepressant properties. One proposed route for the central effects of T is its interaction with the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) system. We explored the relationship between T levels and GABA+ levels in anterior-cingulate (ACC) and the posterior-cingulate (PCC) regions in depressed women, using magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS). Methods: Twenty-one depressed patients with regularly cycling who were not taking hormonal or psychotropic drugs were recruited. We assessed severity of depression using the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS). Blood samples were taken for quantification of free (FT) and total testosterone (TT) on the day of the magnetic resonance (MR) scan. We evaluated GABA+ levels in the PCC and ACC, using the Hadamard Encoding and Reconstruction of MEGA-Edited Spectroscopy (HERMES) sequence. Pearson correlations were used to evaluate the association between FT, TT, GABA+ concentrations, and HDRS scores. Results: TT and FT levels were positively correlated with GABA+ levels in the PCC. No correlation was observed between T levels and GABA+ levels in the ACC. The HDRS total scores correlated negatively with FT levels. Limitations: Limitations include the cross-sectional evaluation and the lack of a comparative healthy group. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that the potential anxiolytic and antidepressant properties of T are related to increased GABA+ levels in the PCC. This observation may contribute to increased understanding of the role of T in depressive and anxiety symptoms in women.
AB - Background: The role of testosterone (T) in the pathophysiology of affective disorders and anxiety is broadly supported. Evidence suggests that T has anxiolytic and antidepressant properties. One proposed route for the central effects of T is its interaction with the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) system. We explored the relationship between T levels and GABA+ levels in anterior-cingulate (ACC) and the posterior-cingulate (PCC) regions in depressed women, using magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS). Methods: Twenty-one depressed patients with regularly cycling who were not taking hormonal or psychotropic drugs were recruited. We assessed severity of depression using the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS). Blood samples were taken for quantification of free (FT) and total testosterone (TT) on the day of the magnetic resonance (MR) scan. We evaluated GABA+ levels in the PCC and ACC, using the Hadamard Encoding and Reconstruction of MEGA-Edited Spectroscopy (HERMES) sequence. Pearson correlations were used to evaluate the association between FT, TT, GABA+ concentrations, and HDRS scores. Results: TT and FT levels were positively correlated with GABA+ levels in the PCC. No correlation was observed between T levels and GABA+ levels in the ACC. The HDRS total scores correlated negatively with FT levels. Limitations: Limitations include the cross-sectional evaluation and the lack of a comparative healthy group. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that the potential anxiolytic and antidepressant properties of T are related to increased GABA+ levels in the PCC. This observation may contribute to increased understanding of the role of T in depressive and anxiety symptoms in women.
KW - GABA
KW - Major depressive disorder
KW - MR spectroscopy
KW - Testosterone
KW - Women
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85052927201&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85052927201&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jad.2018.08.033
DO - 10.1016/j.jad.2018.08.033
M3 - Article
VL - 242
SP - 143
EP - 149
JO - Journal of Affective Disorders
JF - Journal of Affective Disorders
SN - 0165-0327
ER -