Science News about Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

Possible Causes of Sudden Onset OCD in Kids Broadened

Press Release • March 19, 2012

The syndrome, Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome (PANS), includes children and teens that suddenly develop on-again/off-again OCD symptoms or abnormal eating behaviors, along with other psychiatric symptoms – without any known cause. An immune-based treatment study is underway at NIH.

Adding Psychotherapy to Medication Treatment Improves Outcomes in Pediatric OCD

Science Update • September 21, 2011

Youth with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) who are already taking antidepressant medication benefit by adding a type of psychotherapy called cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), according to an NIMH-funded study published September 21, 2011, in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Mice with Autism-related Mutations Replicate Autism-like Behaviors

Science Update • April 15, 2011

Mice bred to harbor mutations similar to those discovered in people with autism show autism-like repetitive behaviors and social impairments. The behaviors, triggered by deletions in a gene called SHANK3, implicated in some cases of autism, were traced to weak neural connections for functions disturbed in autism.

Silenced Gene for Social Behavior Found in Autism

Science Update • December 03, 2009

For the first time, inherited disruption of gene expression in a brain system for social behavior has been implicated in autism. NIMH grantee Margaret Pericak-Vance, Ph.D., at the University of Miami and Simon Gregory, Ph.D., at Duke University, and a multinational team of researchers found evidence for such epigenetic effects on the gene for the oxytocin receptor -- part of a brain system that mediates social behaviors disturbed in autism. The findings suggest a potential genetic biomarker for the disorder.

Journal Highlights Effectiveness of Research Based Psychotherapies for Youth

Science Update • April 15, 2008

Reviews of the current research on psychosocial and behavioral therapies, or psychotherapies, for children and adolescents found a number of "well established" and "probably efficacious" treatments for many mental disorders. For example, six were "probably efficacious" for anxiety disorders, and two were "well established" for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), according to scientists funded by NIMH and the National Institute on Drug Abuse, divisions of the National Institutes of Health.

OCD Risk Higher When Several Variations in Gene Occur Together

Science Update • April 07, 2008

Several variations within the same gene act together to raise the risk of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), new NIMH research suggests. The gene produces a protein that helps make the brain chemical serotonin available to brain cells.

Gene Triggers Obsessive Compulsive Disorder-Like Syndrome in Mice

Press Release • August 22, 2007

Using genetic engineering, researchers have created an obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) - like set of behaviors in mice and reversed them with antidepressants and genetic targeting of a key brain circuit. The study, by National Institutes of Health (NIH) -funded researchers, suggests new strategies for treating the disorder.

Half of Adults With Anxiety Disorders Had Psychiatric Diagnoses in Youth

Science Update • February 07, 2007

About half of adults with an anxiety disorder had symptoms of some type of psychiatric illness by age 15, a NIMH-funded study shows.

How Strep Triggers Obsessive Compulsive Disorder – New Clues

Science Update • October 11, 2006

A likely mechanism by which a bacterial infection triggers obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) in some children has been demonstrated by NIMH scientists and collaborators at California State University and the University of Oklahoma.

Psychotherapy, Medications Best for Youth With Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Press Release • October 28, 2004

Children and adolescents with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) respond best to a combination of both psychotherapy and an antidepressant, a major clinical trial has found.

Mutant Gene Linked to Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Press Release • October 23, 2003

Analysis of DNA samples from patients with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and related illnesses suggests that these neuropsychiatric disorders affecting mood and behavior are associated with an uncommon mutant, malfunctioning gene that leads to faulty transporter function and regulation.