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Is Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Caused by a Second-Messenger Imbalance?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 November 2014

Donatella Marazziti ,
Jorge Perez  and
Giovanni B. Cassano
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Abstract

Although the precise etiologic nature of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), one of the most common psychiatric conditions, is unknown, several findings indicate involvement of the serotonin (5-HT) transporter. Apart from the specific effects of selective 5-HT reuptake inhibitors, other studies show decreased functionality of the platelet 5-HT transporter in OCD. In this report, the authors combine data from two independent studies of patients with OCD, showing both an increased activity of protein kinase type C (PKC) and a decreased activity of protein kinase type A (PKA). The authors propose a unifying hypothesis that OCD might be determined by an imbalance between PKC and PKA, with a prevalence of the former and, more generally, of the phosphoinositide over the cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) pathway. Should this hypothesis prove correct, the path would be open for new therapeutic interventions in the treatment of OCD.

Type
Feature Articles
Information
CNS Spectrums , Volume 6 , Issue 3: New Perspectives on Examining Neuropsychiatric Disorders , March 2001 , pp. 206 - 209
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2001

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