No pituitary gland volume change in medication-free depressed patients

Increased serum cortisol levels and a hyperactive hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis have been proposed to play an important role in the pathophysiology of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). However, there are inconsistent results regarding pituitary gland volume (PGV), which is one of the key elements of the HPA axis evaluated by MRI in depressed patients. In this study, we analyzed the PGV of medication-free moderately depressed MDD patients (N = 34) and age and sex matched healthy controls (N = 39). PGV did not differ between MDD patients and healthy controls [mean volume ± S.D.; 0.76 ± 0.17 cm3 and 0.75 ± 0.14 cm3; ANCOVA, F1,69 = 1.25 p > 0.05; respectively]. Our results confirm that volumetric PGV changes are not crucial for depression pathophysiology among unmedicated, moderately depressed adults.