Magnetic resonance imaging and magnetic resonance spectroscopy study of deficits in hippocampal structure in fire victims with recent-onset posttraumatic stress disorder.

OBJECTIVE To explore hippocampal structural abnormalities in fire victims with recent-onset posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). METHOD We compared 12 patients with recent-onset PTSD diagnosed according to DSM-IV criteria 6 to 8 months after a major fire with 12 individuals without PTSD who were victims of the same fire accident. Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) were combined to examine hippocampal structural abnormalities in patients with recent-onset PTSD. RESULTS Results of VBM showed that the grey matter density of the left hippocampus was lower in the group with PTSD than it was in the group without PTSD. Results of MRS showed that the ratio of N-acetyl asparate and creatine in the left hippocampus was significantly lower in patients with PTSD than in control subjects. CONCLUSION Patients with recent-onset PTSD had hippocampal structural abnormalities.