Key result
Major depressive disorder was associated with a significantly larger left vagus nerve cross-sectional area compared to healthy controls (1.7 vs 1.5 mm2, p=0.045).
Why the study?
Reduced vagal activity is observed in major depressive disorder, but whether vagus nerve cross-sectional area and echogenicity are altered was unknown.
Does high-resolution ultrasound reveal altered cross-sectional area and echogenicity of the vagus nerves in patients with major depressive disorder compared to healthy controls?
Cross-Sectional (n=100)
Single-blind
No
Does high-resolution ultrasound reveal altered cross-sectional area and echogenicity of the vagus nerves in patients with major depressive disorder compared to healthy controls?
Patients with major depressive disorder, particularly those with recurrent episodes, exhibit an enlarged left vagus nerve cross-sectional area, which may serve as a potential imaging biomarker.
Enlarged left vagus nerve CSA was associated with MDD; leaves open its value as an imaging biomarker pending prospective studies.
Purpose: Autonomic dysfunction and a chronic low-grade inflammation are supposed to play a role in the etiology of major depressive disorder (MDD). The vagus nerves (VN) form a major part of the parasympathetic nervous system and of the gut-brain axis. They are supposed to exert anti-inflammatory and epithelial barrier protective effects in the gut. A reduced vagal activity was described in patients with MDD. We aimed to examine the VN in patients with MDD with high-resolution ultrasound (HRUS) and hypothesized that the cross-sectional area (CSA) and the echogenicity of the VNs were altered in comparison to healthy controls. Materials and methods: The echogenicity (gray scale mean) and the CSA of the cervical VNs at the level of the thyroid gland and both median nerves were examined with HRUS in 50 patients with MDD and 50 matched healthy controls. The CSA of the right VN and both median nerves (MN) were similar between groups. In MDD subgroup analyses, recurrent depressive disorders were the main contributing factor for the left VN-CSA enlargement. Echogenicity was not altered in the VN and MN between groups. Conclusion: The enlargement of the left VN-CSA in patients with MDD, and especially in these patients with recurrent depressive disorders, might turn out as a promising imaging biomarker. Longitudinal studies are warranted to examine whether the VNs-CSA change in the course of MDD.
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Schreiber et al. (2023) conducted a cross-sectional in Major depressive disorder (n=100). Major depressive disorder vs. Healthy controls was evaluated on Cross-sectional area of the left vagus nerve (mm2) (p=0.045). Major depressive disorder was associated with a significantly larger left vagus nerve cross-sectional area compared to healthy controls (1.7 vs 1.5 mm2, p=0.045).
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