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2021 AUG 14 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Obesity, Fitness & Wellness Week -- A new study on obsessive-compulsive disorder is now available. According to news [...]

2021 FEB 13 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Obesity, Fitness & Wellness Week -- Research findings on Mental Health Diseases and Conditions - Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder are [...]

Childhood obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) was once considered a rare childhood condition, although recent epidemiological data rank OCD as the fourth most common psychiatric disorder, making it twice as common as panic disorder or schizophrenia (Barrett & Healy, 2003). The available literature indicates that OCD affects children and adolescents at a prevalence rate of up to 4%. Early onset of OCD is associated with a significant increase in the rate of persistence of this disorder (Geller, 2006). Among adults with OCD symptoms, one-third to one-half develop symptoms before or during adolescence (March, Franklin, Nelson, & Foa, 2001). OCD, like most psychiatric disorders, is believed to be influenced by biological, psychological, and social interactions with regard to the onset and course of illness (Cromer, Schmidt, & Murphy, 2007). Exploring factors influencing the onset of symptoms is essential to early treatment and the reduction of suffering in children and adolescents (Douglass, Moffitt, Dar, McGee, & Silva, 1995). Early identification and treatment in childhood may also reduce adult morbidity related to this disorder (March et al., 2001). An overview of the predominant theories in biomedical, behavioral, and psycho-social models are presented, supporting an interdisciplinary approach to the treatment of OCD in children., Obsessive compulsive disorder I(OCD) is a debilitating disorder with two distinct features: a) obsessions that are intrusive, disturbing, and recurrent, and (b) compulsions or repetitive behaviors that are performed to [...]

Objective: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a common, heritable neuropsychiatric disorder, hypothetically underpinned by dysconnectivity of large-scale brain systems. The extent of white matter abnormalities in OCD is unknown, and the genetic basis of this disorder is poorly understood. The authors used diffusion tensor imaging, a magnetic resonance imaging technique, for examining white matter abnormalities in brain structure through quantification of water diffusion, to confirm whether white matter abnormalities exist in OCD. They also explored whether such abnormalities occur in healthy first-degree relatives of patients, indicating they may be endophenotypes representing increased genetic risk for OCD. Method: The authors used diffusion tensor imaging to measure fractional anisotropy of white matter in 30 patients with OCD, 30 unaffected first-degree relatives, and 30 matched healthy comparison subjects. Regions of significantly abnormal fractional anisotropy in patients in relation to healthy comparison subjects were identified by permutation tests. The authors assessed whether these abnormalities were also evident in the first-degree relatives. A secondary region-of-interest analysis was undertaken to assess the extent of replication between our data and previous relevant literature. Results: Patients with OCD demonstrated significantly reduced fractional anisotropy in a large region of right inferior parietal white matter and significantly increased fractional anisotropy in a right medial frontal region. Relatives also exhibited significant abnormalities of fractional anisotropy in these regions. Conclusions: These findings indicate that OCD is associated with white matter abnormalities in parietal and frontal regions. Similar abnormalities in unaffected first-degree relatives suggest these may be white matter endophenotypes for OCD.

Objective: Individuals with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) who have compulsive hoarding behavior are clinically different from other OCD-affected individuals. The objective of this study was to determine whether there are chromosomal regions specifically linked to compulsive hoarding behavior in families with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Methods: The authors used multipoint allele-sharing methods to assess for linkage in 219 multiplex OCD families collected as part of the OCD Collaborative Genetics Study. The authors treated compulsive hoarding as the phenotype of interest and also stratified families into those with and without two or more relatives affected with compulsive hoarding. Results: Using compulsive hoarding as the phenotype, there was suggestive linkage to chromosome 14 at marker D14S588 (Kong and Cox logarithm of the odds ratio [LOD] [KA[C.sub.all]=2.9]). In families with two or more hoarding relatives, there was significant linkage of OCD to chromosome 14 at marker C14S1937 (KA[C.sub.all]=3.7), whereas in families with fewer than two hoarding relatives, there was suggestive linkage to chromosome 3 at marker D3S2398 (KA[C.sub.all]=2.9). Conclusions: The findings suggest that a region on chromosome 14 is linked with compulsive hoarding behavior in families with OCD.

Objective: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is highly heritable. Attempts to delineate precise genetic contributions have met with limited success. There is an ongoing search for intermediate cognitive brain markers (endophenotypes) that may help clarify genetic contributions. The aim was to assess inhibi tory control processes in unaffected first-degree relatives of OCD patients for the first time with objective tests. Method: The Intradimensional/Extradimensional Shift, StopSignal, and Cambridge Gamble tasks were administered to 20 unaffected first-degree relatives, 20 OCD patient probands with washing/checking symptoms, and 20 healthy matched comparison subjects without a family history of OCD. Results: Unaffected first-degree relatives and OCD patient probands showed cognitive inflexibility (extradimensional set shifting) and motor impulsivity (stop-signal reaction times). Decision making (Cambridge Gamble task) was intact. Conclusions: Deficits in cognitive flexibility and motor inhibition may represent cognitive endophenotypes for OCD. Such measures will play a key role in understanding genotype/phenotype associations for OCD and related spectrum conditions.

Objective: Previous studies have demonstrated a relationship between obsessive-compulsive disorder or behavior and Gilles de la Tourette syndrome. It has been hypothesized that the serotonergic system is implicated in the etiology of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Therefore, the authors investigated whether genetic variation in a serotonergic receptor and a modifying enzyme were associated with Tourette's syndrome. Method: A linkage analysis using DNA and blood group markers was carried out in a large British kindred multiply affected with Tourette's syndrome, chronic motor tics, and obsessive-compulsive behavior. Results: There was no evidence to support the hypothesis that genetic variation in the serotonin 5-H[T.sub.1A] receptor and tryptophan oxygenase genes causes susceptibility to Tourette's syndrome and chronic multiple tics. Conclusions: The results eliminate two possible candidate genes from having a role in the pathophysiology of Tourette's syndrome.

Objective: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a psychiatric condition for which strong evidence of a genetic component and serotonergic system involvement exists. Recent studies have shown that sumatriptan, a selective ligand of the serotonin (5-HT)(sub 1D beta) autoreceptor, modifies OCD symptoms. The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of linkage disequilibrium between the 5-HT(sub 1D beta) receptor gene, which has a variant caused by a silent G to C substitution at nucleotide 861 of the coding region, and OCD. Method: DNA was collected from 67 probands who met DSM-IV criteria for OCD and from their living parents or siblings. Transmission Disequilibrium Test/sib-Transmission Disequilibrium Test analyses were then conducted with the DNA data. Results: Thirty-two families were informative for the analysis, which showed a preferential transmission of the G allele to the affected subjects. Conclusions: If the results are confirmed, there may be important implications for the 5-HT(sub 1D beta)ceptor gene in the pathogenesis and treatment of OCD.

Relatives of individuals with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) are up to nine times more likely to have OCD themselves. Two recent studies have backed earlier findings regarding a strong candidate gene. [...]

MIAMI BEACH - Symptom clusters in families with complex disorders such as obsessive-compulsive disorder and Tourette's syndrome can reveal the genetics that drive these conditions and their common comorbidities. This [...]

At age 11, after recovering from a bacterial infection, Christopher King developed an uncontrollable fear of germs. 'If someone sneezed, I had to go into the bathroom and wash for [...]

Researchers at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, have found an obsessive-compulsive gene that leads mice to groom themselves and their cagemates to the point of baldness and lesions [...]

Researchers at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, have found an obsessive-compulsive gene that leads mice to groom themselves and their cagemates to the point of baldness and lesions [...]