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Studies using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), a magnetic resonance modality, have revealed abnormalities in white matter in major depressive disorder (MDD). Using this technique and focusing on several brain areas, investigators in China performed DTI in 16 patients with MDD who had made suicide attempts, 36 MDD patients without attempted-suicide histories, and 52 healthy comparison subjects.
In analyses adjusted for age, sex, and disease duration (the last included because it differed between the two patient groups), patients with suicide attempt histories had lower fractional anisotropy (FA) in the left internal capsule than nonattempters and healthy comparison subjects (lower FA suggests reduced axonal myelination, alterations in the axon…