Neuroimaging study suggests serotonin reuptake inhibitor treatment can improve brain ventricle volume - PsyPost

Psychiatric patients using serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SRI) — a commonly used type of antidepressant — show significantly decreased ventricle volume after one month, according to new neuroimaging research published in the journal Chronic Stress.

The study included 80 participants with no history of mental illness and 81 psychiatric inpatients.

“We studied ventricle volume in patients at The Menninger Clinic, a psychiatric hospital in Houston where patients tend to stay for longer times than typical in psychiatric care.

This allowed us to study ventricle volume twice, close to the beginning of treatment and about a month later,” Salas said.

The researchers observed statistically significant reductions in the brain ventricular volumes among patients taking SRIs.

Among patients who were not taking SRIs, in contrast, there was no significant changes in ventricular volume.

“We found that treatment at the clinic significantly decreased ventricle volume, but only on those patients taking SRIs,” Salas told PsyPost.

“Importantly, we compared patients taking SRIs or not, but the results were not influenced by depression itself.”.

The findings provide evidence that “the volume of the brain ventricles can be seen as a general biomarker of brain health,” he added.

The researchers were surprised to find a “clear separation” between the patients taking SRIs and patients not taking SRIs.

The study, “Decreased Brain Ventricular Volume in Psychiatric Inpatients with Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor Treatment“, was authored by P.K.