Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Inflammation
We have recently talked about the growing evidence that several types of mental illness are associated with inflammation. There are some odd neuropsychiatric illnesses that are known to be associated not just with inflammation, but with disturbances of the immune system. One of the most marked in the so-called PANDAS (Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal infections) in which people may get a constellation of symptoms after a streptococcal infection. Amongst the symptoms are obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)-like symptoms, and that has lead to the question whether OCD itself might be some kind of autoimmune illness.
OCD can be a debilitating illness in which people have obsessive, distressing, intrusive thoughts and related compulsions (tasks or “rituals“) with which they try to neutralize the obsessions. It is classified as an anxiety disorder, and it is listed by the World Health Organization as one of the top twenty most disabling illnesses in terms of lost income and diminished quality of life.
Jack Nicholson did a very good job of portraying someone with OCD in As Good As It Gets, and Tony Shalhoub’s Adrian Monk is close to reality, though few people have quite the number of different and ever-changing obsessions as the character in the show.
Now new research (NR239) presented last week at the 2007 Annual Meeting of the American Psychiatric Association in San Diego has found a link between inflammation and OCD.
Researchers from Zonguldak Karaelmas University in Turkey measured the levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in 31 drug free outpatients with OCD.
Both TNF-α and IL-6 levels were significantly higher in people with OCD compared with healthy volunteers.
What this tells us is that there may well be some involvement of the immune system in the pathophysiology of OCD, and, if confirmed, that in itself might suggest some new approaches to treatment.
The next step will be to replicate the study with a larger number, and then to do a longitudinal study, to see if these inflammatory markers rise as people are getting worse, and go down as they improve.
Dr. Richard G. Petty, MD is a world-renowned authority on the brain, and his revolutionary work on human energy systems has been acclaimed around the globe.
He is also an accredited specialist in internal and metabolic medicine, endocrinology, psychiatry, acupuncture and homeopathy. He has been an innovator and leader of the human potential movement for over thirty years and is also an active researcher, teacher, writer, professional speaker and broadcaster. He is the author of five books, including the groundbreaking and best selling CD series Healing, Meaning and Purpose. He has taught in over 45 countries and 48 states in the last ten years, but spends as much time as possible on his horse farm in Georgia.
