title: Decreased platelet 3H-paroxetine binding in obsessive-compulsive patients.
abstract: The similarities between the serotonin (5-HT) transporter in both human platelets and human brain permit us to investigate this structure in patients with different psychiatric disorders. Several reports have shown abnormalities of the 5-HT transporter, by means of the measurement of the 5-HT uptake or of the 3H-imipramine binding, in platelets of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The availability of the ligand 3H-paroxetine, a selective 5-HT reuptake inhibitor, to label the 5-HT transporter, promoted us to evaluate the binding of 3H-paroxetine in platelets of 18 drug-free patients with OCD. The results, showing that the patients had a lower number of 3H-paroxetine sites, which is inversely correlated with the Yale Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale total score, than a similar group of controls, add supporting evidence to the involvement of 5-HT in OCD. In addition, the decreased functionality of the 5-HT transporter seems to be linked to the severity of OC symptoms.
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Psichiatria, Università di Pisa, Italia.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Marazziti
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rossi
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gemignani
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Giannaccini
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pfanner
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Milanfranchi
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Presta
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lucacchini
authors.forename: G B
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Cassano
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001792:Blood Platelets / Q000378:metabolism*; D001921:Brain / Q000503:physiopathology; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins / Q000502:physiology*; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D017374:Paroxetine / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D050486:Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*
chemical_list: D002352:Carrier Proteins; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D017374:Paroxetine; D050486:Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors; C493230:SLC6A4 protein, human