Measuring Cerebral Blood Perfusion: A Noninvasive Biomarker for Adolescent Depression?

Regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) abnormalities have been documented in adults with depression. Investigators used a new noninvasive method of measuring rCBF (arterial spin labeling) from functional magnetic resonance imaging in 25 medication-naive adolescents (age range, 13–17 years) with major depressive disorder (MDD) and 26 matched healthy controls. Arterial spin labeling provides an absolute estimate of rCBF derived from subtraction of tagged magnetically …