Hippocampal Volume of Patients who got Posttraumatic Stress Disorder from Yun-cheon Accident : 8-month Follow Up Study

연천 사고 피해 PTSD 환자의 해마 용적 : 8개월 추적 연구

  • Kang, Suk-Hoon (Department of Neuropsychiatry, Seoul Veterans Hospital) ;
  • Kim, Tae-Yong (Department of Neuropsychiatry, Seoul Veterans Hospital) ;
  • Lee, Soo-Young (Department of Neuropsychiatry, Seoul Veterans Hospital) ;
  • Chung, Moon-Young (Department of Neuropsychiatry, Seoul Veterans Hospital) ;
  • Choi, Jin-Hee (Department of Neuropsychiatry, Seoul Veterans Hospital) ;
  • Chung, Hae-Gyung (Department of Neuropsychiatry, Seoul Veterans Hospital) ;
  • Kim, Jae-Chun (Department of Radiology, Seoul Veterans Hospital)
  • 강석훈 (서울보훈병원 신경정신과) ;
  • 김태용 (서울보훈병원 신경정신과) ;
  • 이수영 (서울보훈병원 신경정신과) ;
  • 정문용 (서울보훈병원 신경정신과) ;
  • 최진희 (서울보훈병원 신경정신과) ;
  • 정혜경 (서울보훈병원 신경정신과) ;
  • 김재천 (서울보훈병원 영상의학과)
  • Received : 2007.09.12
  • Accepted : 2007.10.11
  • Published : 2007.10.31

Abstract

Objective : This study was conducted to evaluate the relation between symptoms and hippocampal volume in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Methods : Eight patients with PTSD and five normal controls were enrolled in the present study. The severity of PTSD symptoms was measured using the clinician administered PTSD scale (CAPS), Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAMD), Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAMA). Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to measure hippocampal volume. Results : There were significant differences in the CAPS, HAMD, and HAMA scores between the PTSD patients and normal controls. The left and right hippocampal volumes were smaller in the PTSD patients than in the normal controls, but this difference was not statistically significant. The results showed that PTSD symptoms were not related to hippocampal volume. Conclusion : In this study, we could not identify a difference in hippocampal volume between normal controls and patients with PTSD at eight months after trauma. Future research with different subjects and a larger sample size is needed in order to confirm the difference in hippocampal volume.

Keywords