Abstract #2675

Evidence for an association between low-grade peripheral inflammation and brain structural alterations in major depression

Harald Kugel¹, Nils Opel², Micah Cearns³, Scott Clark³, Catherine Toben³, Dominik Grotegerd², Walter Heindel¹, Anja Teuber⁴, Heike Minnerup⁴, Matthias Nauck⁵, Klaus Berger⁴, Udo Dannlowski², and Bernhard T. Baune⁶

¹Institute of Clinical Radiology, University of Münster, Münster, Germany, ²Department of Psychiatry, University of Münster, Münster, Germany, ³Discipline of Psychiatry, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia, ⁴Institute of Epidemiology and Social Medicine, University of Münster, Münster, Germany, ⁵Institute of Laboratory Medicine, University of Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany, ⁶Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia

Preliminary research suggests that major depressive disorder (MDD) is associated with structural alterations of brain regions relevant for emotion regulation and associated with low-grade peripheral inflammation as indicated by high sensitive C-reactive protein (hsCRP) serum levels. This association between structural brain alterations and low-grade inflammation as potentially interrelated biological correlates of MDD was investigated. In MDD patients, but not healthy controls, prefrontal gray matter volume reductions were significantly associated with higher hsCRP levels.

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