BACKGROUND: A central serotonergic dysfunction is considered to be involved in the pathophysiology of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The aim of this study was to investigate the serotonin transporter availability in patients with OCD as an in vivo marker of the central serotonergic system. METHODS: Nine unmedicated (7 drug-naive) patients with OCD and 10 healthy control subjects were included and received single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) 20.75 +/- 1.51 hours after injection of a mean 147.20 +/- 6.74 MBq [(123)I]-2beta-carbomethoxy-3beta-(4-iodophenyl)tropane ([(123)I]beta-CIT). As a measure of brain serotonin transporter availability, a ratio of specific-to-nonspecific [(123)I]beta-CIT binding for the midbrain-pons (V(3)" = [midbrain/pons-occipital]/occipital) was used. RESULTS: Mean specific-to-nonspecific ratios showed a 25% higher midbrain-pons [(123)I]beta-CIT binding in the patients as compared with healthy controls (2.26 +/-.37 vs. 1.81 +/-.23, p <.01). The difference remained significant after adjustment for clinical variables and controlling for age and gender. Stratification of the patients according to onset of the disorder revealed significant differences between controls and patients with early (childhood, adolescence) but not late (adult) onset of OCD. CONCLUSIONS: The study provides evidence of a serotonergic dysfunction in patients with OCD and suggests a serotonergic component in the pathophysiology of the disorder.
BACKGROUND: A central serotonergic dysfunction is considered to be involved in the pathophysiology of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The aim of this study was to investigate the serotonin transporter availability in patients with OCD as an in vivo marker of the central serotonergic system. METHODS: Nine unmedicated (7 drug-naive) patients with OCD and 10 healthy control subjects were included and received single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) 20.75 +/- 1.51 hours after injection of a mean 147.20 +/- 6.74 MBq [(123)I]-2beta-carbomethoxy-3beta-(4-iodophenyl)tropane ([(123)I]beta-CIT). As a measure of brain serotonin transporter availability, a ratio of specific-to-nonspecific [(123)I]beta-CIT binding for the midbrain-pons (V(3)" = [midbrain/pons-occipital]/occipital) was used. RESULTS: Mean specific-to-nonspecific ratios showed a 25% higher midbrain-pons [(123)I]beta-CIT binding in the patients as compared with healthy controls (2.26 +/-.37 vs. 1.81 +/-.23, p <.01). The difference remained significant after adjustment for clinical variables and controlling for age and gender. Stratification of the patients according to onset of the disorder revealed significant differences between controls and patients with early (childhood, adolescence) but not late (adult) onset of OCD. CONCLUSIONS: The study provides evidence of a serotonergic dysfunction in patients with OCD and suggests a serotonergic component in the pathophysiology of the disorder.
Authors: Matthias Reimold; Astrid Knobel; Michael A Rapp; Anil Batra; Klaus Wiedemann; Andreas Ströhle; Anke Zimmer; Peter Schönknecht; Michael N Smolka; Daniel R Weinberger; David Goldman; Hans-Jürgen Machulla; Roland Bares; Andreas Heinz Journal: Psychopharmacology (Berl) Date: 2010-06-29 Impact factor: 4.530
Authors: Xian-Zhang Hu; Robert H Lipsky; Guanshan Zhu; Longina A Akhtar; Julie Taubman; Benjamin D Greenberg; Ke Xu; Paul D Arnold; Margaret A Richter; James L Kennedy; Dennis L Murphy; David Goldman Journal: Am J Hum Genet Date: 2006-03-28 Impact factor: 11.025
Authors: M Reimold; M N Smolka; A Zimmer; A Batra; A Knobel; C Solbach; A Mundt; H U Smoltczyk; D Goldman; K Mann; G Reischl; H-J Machulla; R Bares; A Heinz Journal: J Neural Transm (Vienna) Date: 2007-08-22 Impact factor: 3.575
Authors: Dean F Wong; James R Brasić; Harvey S Singer; David J Schretlen; Hiroto Kuwabara; Yun Zhou; Ayon Nandi; Marika A Maris; Mohab Alexander; Weiguo Ye; Olivier Rousset; Anil Kumar; Zsolt Szabo; Albert Gjedde; Anthony A Grace Journal: Neuropsychopharmacology Date: 2007-11-07 Impact factor: 7.853
Authors: Jennifer D Lundgren; Andrew B Newberg; Kelly C Allison; Nancy A Wintering; Karl Ploessl; Albert J Stunkard Journal: Psychiatry Res Date: 2008-02-20 Impact factor: 3.222