STEROIDS, COGNITION AND IMAGING IN CUSHING'S SYNDROME

库欣综合征中的类固醇、认知和影像

• 批准号: 7376501
• 负责人: MONICA N STARKMAN
• 金额: $ 10.58万
• 依托单位: UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2006
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2006-04-05 至 2007-02-28
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/7376501
• 关键词: brain; cognition; cortisol; hippocampus; learning; memory; steroid hormone; syndrome

This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. Elevated levels of the hormone cortisol are found in older patients with Alzheimer's Disease and in Major Depressive Disorder. Animal studies show that high levels of cortisol affect the hippocampus, the part of the brain involved in memory and learning. Patients with Cushing's Syndrome (CS) have highly elevated cortisol levels for months or years and develop symptoms such as abnormal mood, sex drive, learning and memory. The studies we propose will advance knowledge about the effect of elevated cortisol on the brain in humans. Animal studies also show that a toxic effect of cortisol on the hippocampus is the likely mechanism by which elevated steroids produce these symptoms. We will use magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain together with specific neuropsychological tests (NPT) to investigate such a mechanism on patients with CS. We will examine, prior to treatment, the volume of the hippocampus (HFV) in CS patients, and compare it to matched healthy research volunteers. We will then examine the association between the severity of cortisol elevation, NPT impairment and HFV. Other brain regions will be used as comparisons to examine the specificity of the association. Since cortisol levels normalize after treatment, we will study if these changes are reversible. For this purpose, we will repeat NPT and MRI 12 and 24 months following treatment. In addition to CS, these studies will help understand the impact of steroid hormones on the brain of patients with a wide variety of illnesses requiring long-term steroid treatment and other conditions in which steroid hormones are secreted abnormal

本子项目是利用由NIH/NCRR资助的中心赠款提供的资源的众多研究子项目之一。子项目和研究者（PI）可能已经从另一个NIH来源获得了主要资金，因此可以在其他CRISP条目中表示。列出的机构是中心的，不一定是研究者的机构。老年阿尔茨海默病患者和重度抑郁症患者体内皮质醇水平升高。动物研究表明，高水平的皮质醇会影响海马体，即大脑中与记忆和学习有关的部分。库欣综合征（CS）患者的皮质醇水平会持续数月或数年高度升高，并出现情绪、性欲、学习和记忆异常等症状。我们提出的研究将推进关于皮质醇升高对人类大脑影响的知识。动物研究也表明，皮质醇对海马体的毒性作用可能是激素升高产生这些症状的机制。我们将使用脑磁共振成像（MRI）结合特定的神经心理测试（NPT）来研究CS患者的这种机制。我们将在治疗前检查CS患者的海马体（HFV）体积，并将其与匹配的健康研究志愿者进行比较。然后，我们将检查皮质醇升高的严重程度、NPT损伤和HFV之间的关系。其他大脑区域将被用作比较，以检验这种关联的特异性。由于皮质醇水平在治疗后恢复正常，我们将研究这些变化是否可逆。为此，我们将在治疗后12个月和24个月重复NPT和MRI。除了CS，这些研究将有助于了解类固醇激素对需要长期类固醇治疗的各种疾病患者的大脑的影响，以及类固醇激素分泌异常的其他情况