Authors : Pourisa Masoud , Daghighi Mahammad Hossein , Pezeshki Mohammad Zakaria , Pezeshki Sina and Purisa Sevim
Abstract: This study was designed to assess therapeutic effect of exposure to 0.3 tesla magnetic field with 30 min duration during diagnostic brain MRI on major depression. Three hundred patients who were referred consecutively to our MRI imaging center for brain MRI were screened for major depression using Iranian version of PHQ-9 (Patient Health Questionnaire). Screening showed that 23 patients had major depression. As an uncontrolled experimental study patients� depression score was measured before and 2 weeks after diagnostic brain MRI. After exposure to MRI, the score of 17 out of 23 patients (73.9%) decreased to less than 10 which is the level for major depression based on PHQ-9 scoring. Depression score after brain MRI was significantly lower than before exposure (p< 0.001). Also score of all nine items of the questionnaire was lower than before exposure (P value ranged from 0.001 to p< 0.03). Our study showed that exposure to magnetic field during a diagnostic brain MRI may improve depressive symptoms. Based on the results, a randomized controlled clinical trial with further follow-up is being designed about patients of psychiatric hospital with resistence to convential treatments.
Pourisa Masoud , Daghighi Mahammad Hossein , Pezeshki Mohammad Zakaria , Pezeshki Sina and Purisa Sevim , 2007. Effect of Diagnostic Brain MRI on Depression Score in Patients with Major Depression . Research Journal of Biological Sciences, 2: 722-724.