Brain 5-HT function in obsessive-compulsive disorder

1997 ◽  
Vol 171 (3) ◽  
pp. 280-282 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. A. Fineberg ◽  
A. Roberts ◽  
S. A. Montgomery ◽  
P. J. Cowen

BackgroundDrugs that potentiate brain serotonin (5-HT) neurotransmission are effective in the treatment of obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD), but it is unclear whether disturbances in brain 5-HT function play a role in the pathophysiology of OCD.MethodWe studied the prolactin response to the selective 5-HT releasing agent d-fenfluramine in 14 non-depressed, drug-free OCD patients, and 14 healthy controls matched for age and gender.ResultsThe prolactin response to d-fenfluramine was significantly increased in OCD patients compared with controls.ConclusionsThe disparate results of studies of 5-HT neuroendocrine function in OCD make it unlikely that disturbances of brain 5-HT function play a central role in the pathophysiology of OCD. Increased brain 5-HT neurotransmission in non-depressed OCD subjects may represent an adaptive neurobehavioural mechanism which can be amplified to therapeutic advantage by treatment with 5-HT potentiating drugs.

1992 ◽  
Vol 161 (4) ◽  
pp. 517-521 ◽  
Author(s):  
James V. Lucey ◽  
Veronica O'Keane ◽  
Gerard Butcher ◽  
Anthony W. Clare ◽  
Timothy G. Dinan

Cortisol and prolactin responses to d-fenfluramine were measured in 10 drug-free normothymic patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The results were compared with these responses in 10 healthy controls and in 10 major depressives. The endocrine responses in OCD were significantly attenuated when compared to the healthy controls; however, the results were not specific to OCD as the depressives' responses were similarly blunted.


1997 ◽  
Vol 170 (6) ◽  
pp. 554-557 ◽  
Author(s):  
Palmiero Monteleone ◽  
Francesco Catapano ◽  
Stefania Dl Martino ◽  
Ciro Ferraro ◽  
Mario Maj

BackgroundAlthough several studies have directly explored serotonin (5-HT) transmission in patients with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), their results have been inconsistent and their clinical relevance is doubtfulMethodAccording to a double-blind placebo-controlled design, plasma prolactin (PRL) response to a specific serotonergic probe, d-fenfluramine, was measured in 20 drug-free obsessive compulsive patients and in 20 matched healthy controls. After the neuroendocrine test, 5 patients completed a lO-week treatment with fluvoxamine. Psychopathological assessment was performed before and after therapy.ResultsPRL response in OCD patients was blunted under the drug-free condition; correlated inversely with pretreatment ratings of obsessive-compulsive and depressive symptomatology; and correlated inversely with the improvement in obsessive-compulsivescore observed after fluvoxamine treatment.ConclusionsThese results support the idea of a dysfunction of 5-HT transmission in OCD, and suggest that the greater this impairment, the better the response to drugs which selectively block the reuptake of 5-HT.


2015 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 357-366 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Kim ◽  
O. D. Howes ◽  
J. W. Park ◽  
S. N. Kim ◽  
S. A Shin ◽  
...  

BackgroundObsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a chronic, relapsing mental illness. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors block serotonin transporters (SERTs) and are the mainstay of treatment for OCD. SERT abnormalities are reported in drug-free patients with OCD, but it is not known what happens to SERT levels during treatment. This is important as alterations in SERT levels in patients under treatment could underlie poor response, or relapse during or after treatment. The aim of the present study was first to validate a novel approach to measuring SERT levels in people taking treatment and then to investigate SERT binding potential (BP) using [11C]DASB PET in patients with OCD currently treated with escitalopram in comparison with healthy controls.MethodTwelve patients and age- and sex-matched healthy controls were enrolled. The patients and healthy controls underwent serial PET scans after administration of escitalopram and blood samples for drug concentrations were collected simultaneously with the scans. Drug-free BPs were obtained by using an inhibitory Emax model we developed previously.ResultsThe inhibitory Emax model was able to accurately predict drug-free SERT BP in people taking drug treatment. The drug-free BP in patients with OCD currently treated with escitalopram was significantly different from those in healthy volunteers [Cohen's d = 0.03 (caudate), 1.16 (putamen), 1.46 (thalamus), −5.67 (dorsal raphe nucleus)].ConclusionsThis result extends previous findings showing SERT abnormalities in drug-free patients with OCD by indicating that altered SERT availability is seen in OCD despite treatment. This could account for poor response and the high risk of relapse in OCD.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Safaa Ali ◽  
Nawa Souilm

Abstract Background: Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is among the top ten devastating mental disorders. Psychiatric nurses have significant roles in its diagnosis and management. Aim of the study: to investigate the effects of insight with obsessive beliefs and metacognition appraisal on the severity of symptoms among patients with OCD. Subjects and methods: This case-control study was conducted in the outpatient clinics at El Maamoura Mental Health Hospital. It included 69 OCD patients recruited from the setting, and 69 age- and gender-matched healthy controls. A self-administered questionnaire Yale Brown OCD Scale, Overvalued Ideas Scale (OVIS), and Metacognitions Questionnaire (MCQ-30) was used in data collection. The fieldwork was from October 2020 to March 2021. Results: Most patients were diagnosed with OCD at <30 years age (78.3%), and 39.1% tried self-management. OCD patients’ scores of Yale Brown, OVIS, and MCQ-30 were significantly higher than controls (p<0.001). A significant positive correlation was found between Yale Brown severity and OVIS insight scores (r=0.459). The multivariate analysis revealed that OVIS score is the strongest independent positive predictor of the Yale Brown severity score, while good family relations is a negative predictor. As for the MCQ-30, the control thoughts score was a positive predictor, and the self-consciousness score a negative predictor. Conclusion and recommendations: OCD patients have poorer insight and more maladaptive metacognitive beliefs in comparison with healthy controls. Although poor insight has a significant negative impact on OCD severity, the effects of metacognition still need further research. The study recommends training programs to improve the insight of OCD patients. Further research addressing the role of metacognition in OCD is warranted.


2009 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 131-135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Quirino Cordeiro ◽  
Carolina Cappi ◽  
Aline Santos Sampaio ◽  
Selma Aliotti Palácios ◽  
Carlos Alberto de Bragança Pereira ◽  
...  

OBJECTIVE: Evidence from family and molecular genetic studies support the hypothesis of involvement of immunologic mechanisms in the pathophysiology of obsessive-compulsive disorder. The nuclear factor of kappa light polypeptide gene enhancer in B-cells inhibitor-like 1 (NFKBIL1) has been suggested as a modulator of the immunological system. Given the importance of NFKBIL1 in the immunological response, the present study investigated the -62A/T polymorphism (rs2071592), located in the promoter region of its gene (NFKBIL1), as a genetic risk factor for the development of obsessive-compulsive disorder. METHOD: The -62A/T NFKBIL1 polymorphism was investigated in a sample of 111 patients who met DSM-IV criteria for obsessive-compulsive disorder and 272 healthy age- and gender-matched controls. RESULTS: There were no differences in genotypic distributions between patients and controls (χ2 = 0.98; 2 d.f.; p = 0.61). DISCUSSION: Despite these negative findings, more comprehensive polymorphism coverage within the NFKBIL1 is warranted in larger samples. Populations with different ethnic backgrounds should also be studied. CONCLUSION: The results of the present investigation do not provide evidence for the association between the -62A/T NFKBIL1 polymorphism and obsessive-compulsive disorder in this Brazilian sample.


2017 ◽  
Vol 47 (11) ◽  
pp. 1957-1970 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Yoris ◽  
A. M. García ◽  
L. Traiber ◽  
H. Santamaría-García ◽  
M. Martorell ◽  
...  

BackgroundObsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) patients typically overmonitor their own behavior, as shown by symptoms of excessive doubt and checking. Although this is well established for the patients’ relationship with external stimuli in the environment, no study has explored their monitoring of internal body signals, a process known to be affected in anxiety-related syndromes. Here, we explored this issue through a cardiac interoception task that measures sensing of heartbeats. Our aim was to explore key behavioral and electrophysiological aspects of internal-cue monitoring in OCD, while examining their potential distinctiveness in this condition.MethodWe administered a heartbeat detection (HBD) task (with related interoceptive confidence and awareness measures) to three matched groups (OCD patients, panic disorder patients, healthy controls) and recorded ongoing modulations of two task-relevant electrophysiological markers: the heart evoked potential (HEP) and the motor potential (MP).ResultsBehaviorally, OCD patients outperformed controls and panic patients in the HBD task. Moreover, they exhibited greater amplitude modulation of both the HEP and the MP during cardiac interoception. However, they evinced poorer confidence and awareness of their interoceptive skills.ConclusionsConvergent behavioral and electrophysiological data showed that overactive monitoring in OCD extends to the sensing of internal bodily signals. Moreover, this pattern discriminated OCD from panic patients, suggesting a condition-distinctive alteration. Our results highlight the potential of exploring interoceptive processes in the OCD spectrum to better characterize the population's cognitive profile. Finally, these findings may lay new bridges between somatic theories of emotion and cognitive models of OCD.


2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (S2) ◽  
pp. 977-977 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Olbrich ◽  
S. Olbrich ◽  
I. Jahn ◽  
U. Hegerl ◽  
K. Stengler

Neurophysiological hyperactivation of cortical and subcortical brain areas has been reported in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) using functional imaging techniques and electroencephalography (EEG). Also sleep disturbances and delayed sleep phases have been associated with OCD symptomatology. However, vigilance regulation in OCD during the transition phase from wakefulness to sleep onset remains unclear. Therefore the aim of this study was to analyze EEG-source estimates and EEG vigilance regulation in OCD patients in comparison to healthy controls.A 15 minute resting EEG was recorded in 30 unmedicated OCD patients and 30 healthy, age and gender matched controls. EEG power source estimates of the whole time series were computed by exact Low Resolution Brain Electromagnetic Tomography (eLORETA). Each consecutive one second EEG-segment was classified into one out of seven EEG-vigilance stages (0, A1, A2, A3, B1, B2/3, C) using Vigilance Algorithm Leipzig (VIGALL). The eLORETA analysis (log of F-ratios, p < 0.05, corrected for multiple comparison) revealed significantly increased delta power in the right superior frontal gyrus for OCD patients in comparison to healthy controls. Vigilance analysis yielded significantly increased amounts of high vigilance stage A2 (Mann-Whitney test, p < 0.001, corrected for multiple comparison) for OCD patients.This study repeated findings of altered EEG-power in frontal areas in OCD patients. Alterations of EEG-vigilance regulation were found with increased amounts of high vigilance stage A2. This is in line with a hypothesis of cortical hyperactivation in OCD. The value of EEG-vigilance as a possible biological marker for e.g. treatment response should be focus of further studies.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document