Obsessive Compulsive Disorder News and Research

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Anxiety disorders are serious medical illnesses that affect approximately 20 million adults in the United States. These disorders include generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, post traumatic stress disorder, panic disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Obsessive-compulsive disorder affects approximately 3.3 million adults in the United States, causing patients to experience obsessive thoughts and perform repetitive rituals (e.g. checking, hoarding, hand washing) that interfere with normal life. The obsessive thoughts and compulsions are often irrational and cause significant stress and anxiety, leading to isolation of the individual from work or society, or impaired productivity. Individuals with OCD often recognize their behaviors as excessive or unreasonable. OCD is a chronic condition that usually begins in adolescence or early adulthood. Although patients can be treated with cognitive behavioral therapy and conventional antidepressant or antianxiety drugs, approximately 20% of patients achieve full remission. Secretin may provide an alternative for patients who are refractory to other drug therapies.

Majority youths with autism or intellectual disability receive antipsychotics, study finds

About one in ten youths treated with an antipsychotic are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder or intellectual disability. Conversely, one in six youths diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder has been prescribed antipsychotics.

31 May 2016

Increasing ghrelin levels during hunger can negatively affect decision making capabilities

Never make a decision when you are hungry. The hormone ghrelin - that is released before meals and known to increase appetite - has a negative effect on both decision making and impulse control. Such were the results of a recently conducted study at Sahlgrenska University.

10 May 2016

Parkinson's disease medications could lead to impulse control disorders

Drugs commonly prescribed to treat Parkinson's disease have been linked to impulse control disorders such as pathological gambling, compulsive buying, hypersexuality and binge eating in some patients, report neurologists from Loyola Medicine and Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine.

6 Apr 2016

Discovery could lead to better therapies for people with obsessive compulsive disorder

Research led by investigators in veterinary and human medicine has identified genetic pathways that exacerbate severity of canine compulsive disorder in Doberman pinschers, a discovery that could lead to better therapies for obsessive compulsive disorder in people.

27 Feb 2016

Study shows bullied preemies more likely to develop mental health problems as adults

Babies born at an extremely low birth weight (ELBW) are miracles, but they are more likely to be bullied as children, and this can significantly increase their risk for mental health problems as adults.

17 Feb 2016

Using antidepressant drug during first trimester of pregnancy may increase risk of birth defects

Using paroxetine--a medication prescribed to treat conditions including depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, anxiety and posttraumatic stress disorder--during the first trimester of pregnancy may increase newborns' risk of congenital malformations and cardiac malformations. That's the conclusion of a recent analysis published in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology.

6 Jan 2016

Teens with moderate mental health problems vape e-cigarettes

Teenagers with moderate mental health problems who may not have considered smoking conventional cigarettes are turning to electronic cigarettes, a new USC study has found.

20 Dec 2015

Specific deep-brain circuit's firing frequency can alter forebrain activity, alertness levels

Adjusting a specific deep-brain circuit's firing frequency immediately and dramatically alters rats' forebrain activity and alertness levels, Stanford University School of Medicine investigators have shown.

11 Dec 2015

Food smells activate impulse areas of the brain linked with obsessive-compulsive disorder in obese children

The area of the brain associated with impulsivity and the development of obsessive-compulsive disorder is activated in obese children when introduced to food smells, according to a study being presented next week at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America.

24 Nov 2015

OCD patients can benefit from exposure and response prevention therapy when drug treatment options fail

Patients with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) can improve their symptoms significantly by adding exposure and response prevention therapy to their treatment regimen when common drug treatment options have failed, according to new research from psychiatrists at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

12 Nov 2015

Doctors use MR-guided focused ultrasound to treat essential tremor

The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center is one of six locations nationally - and the only one in the Midwest - studying the safety and effectiveness of a promising new technology using MR-guided focused ultrasound to treat patients suffering from essential tremor as part of a multi-center FDA trial.

18 Oct 2015

Benzodiazepines heighten risks for dementia and death

Patients taking benzodiazepines to treat psychiatric conditions should consider transitioning to other therapies because of heightened risks for dementia and death, according to clinicians from the American College of Osteopathic Neurologists and Psychiatrists.

6 Oct 2015

Osteopathic physicians, researchers to present clinical and research updates at OMED 15

Osteopathic physicians, researchers and aligned medical professionals will present clinical and research updates in 15 specialties at OMED 15 in Orlando October 17-21.

6 Oct 2015

Clinical trial initiated to determine feasibility, safety of focused ultrasound to treat depression

The first patient with depression has been treated with focused ultrasound. This procedure marks the beginning of a pilot clinical trial to determine the feasibility and safety of MR-guided focused ultrasound to non-invasively destroy a small volume of tissue deep in the brain - the anterior limb of the internal capsule - a well-established target for treating severe depression.

29 Sep 2015

Brain & Behavior Research Foundation announces recipients of NARSAD Young Investigator Grants

The Brain & Behavior Research Foundation today announced the award of its NARSAD Young Investigator Grants valued at more than $13 million to 191 of the world's most promising young scientists.

24 Sep 2015

Bionomics’ BNC210 Phase 1 trial for anxiety and depression meets primary endpoint

Bionomics Limited, a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of innovative therapeutics for the treatment of diseases of the central nervous system (CNS) and cancer, today reported positive data from the completed Phase 1 multiple ascending dose, placebo controlled clinical trial of BNC210, an orally administered negative allosteric modulator of the alpha-7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (alpha-7 receptor) being developed for the treatment of anxiety and depression.

16 Sep 2015

Researchers examine neuroanatomical signature of schizophrenia in different ethnic groups

While it is known that the incidence and outward symptoms of schizophrenia are strongly influenced by ethnic factors--for instance, patients from Asian ethnicities are more likely to experience visual hallucinations, whereas patients from western cultures and Caucasian ethnicities are more likely to suffer from auditory hallucinations--it was unclear if brain deficits would differ amongst suffers from various ethnic backgrounds.

14 Sep 2015

Study identifies two key traits involved in development of obsessive-compulsive disorder

Confusing reality with imagination and losing contact with reality are two key characteristics that could play a role in the development of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). This is what we learn from a study conducted by researchers at the CIUSSS de l'Est-de-l'Île-de-Montréal (Institut universitaire en santé mentale de Montréal) and the University of Montreal, the results of which were published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology.

13 Aug 2015

First self-assessment test developed to help clinicians diagnose autism in adults

Psychologists from Cardiff University have developed the first self-assessment test designed to help clinicians diagnose autism in adults.

7 Aug 2015

Sham-controlled trial of deep brain stimulation treatment for depression fails to show efficacy

Depression is a leading cause of disability worldwide, and treatment-resistant symptoms of depression have a terrible personal and societal cost. They can devastate lives, careers, and families. Some severely ill patients may be unable to attend to even the basic elements of self-care, while others attempt or complete suicide.

29 Jul 2015