Prefrontal myo-inositol concentration and visuospatial functioning among diabetic depressed patients

Haroon, Ebrahim; Watari, Kecia; Thomas, Albert; Ajilore, Olusola; Mintz, Jim; Elderkin-Thompson, Virginia; Darwin, Christine; Kumaran, Senthil; Kumar, Anand

doi:10.1016/j.pscychresns.2008.03.006

« Previous Next »Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging
Volume 171, Issue 1 , Pages 10-19, 30 January 2009

Prefrontal myo-inositol concentration and visuospatial functioning among diabetic depressed patients

Ebrahim Haroon
- Semel Institute of Neurosciences, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90024-1759, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
Kecia Watari
- Semel Institute of Neurosciences, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90024-1759, USA
Albert Thomas
- Department of Radiology, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, 90024-1759, USA
Olusola Ajilore
- Semel Institute of Neurosciences, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90024-1759, USA
Jim Mintz
- Semel Institute of Neurosciences, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90024-1759, USA
Virginia Elderkin-Thompson
- Semel Institute of Neurosciences, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90024-1759, USA
Christine Darwin
- Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Senthil Kumaran
- Department of Radiology, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, 90024-1759, USA
Anand Kumar
- Semel Institute of Neurosciences, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90024-1759, USA
- Corresponding author. 760 Westwood Plaza, Rm. C9-938, Los Angeles, CA 90024-1759, USA. Tel.: +1 310 206 4405.

Received 8 August 2007; received in revised form 12 January 2008; accepted 8 March 2008.

Abstract

Patients with diabetes mellitus are reported to be at higher risk for developing neuropsychiatric disorders such as dementia and depression. Myo-inositol (mI), a neuronal/glial metabolite associated with multiple functions in the brain, has been shown to be increased in cognitive disorders, depression and diabetes. This study examined whether elevations in dorsolateral (DL) mI of diabetic patients with depression were associated with visuospatial deficits. Diabetic and depressed patients (n=18) were matched with patients with diabetes but without depression (n=20) and control subjects (n=19). Subjects were scored on both the recall and recognition tasks of the Rey-Osterreith Complex Figure (ROCF). Proton magnetic spectroscopy spectra from bilateral prefrontal white matter voxels were used to obtain concentrations of mI. Controls showed negative correlations between mI in right DL white matter and recall and recognition subtests. No correlation was observed for depressed diabetic patients. Correlations for diabetic controls fell midway between the comparison and depressed diabetic groups. The expected pattern of association between mI and visuospatial impairment in the right DL prefrontal region was seen among healthy controls. Progressive weakening of this association across both diabetic groups might be related to progressive changes in neural activity that underlies visuospatial function.