Cerebrospinal fluid levels of oxytocin in Prader-Willi syndrome: a preliminary report.
BACKGROUND
Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a genetic disorder characterized by mental retardation, appetite dysregulation, and a high risk for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Microscopic abnormalities of the hypothalamus have been described in PWS, and oxytocin has been implicated in both appetite regulation and OCD.


METHODS
Oxytocin and arginine vasopressin (AVP) were measured in the cerebrospinal fluid of 5 subjects with PWS (2 male, 3 female) and in 6 normal control subjects (all female).


RESULTS
CSF oxytocin was elevated in PWS (9.2 +/- 3.9 pmol/L) as compared to normal control subjects (5.1 +/- 0.9 pmol/L, p = 0.045), a finding that was more significant when excluding male subjects from analysis (p = 0.02). AVP was not significantly different between the groups as a whole.


CONCLUSIONS
These data provide further evidence for hypothalamic and oxytocinergic dysfunction in PWS. The associations between oxytocin, appetite regulation, and obsessive compulsive symptomatology in PWS warrant further investigation.
Martin
A
A
Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.
State
M
M
Anderson
G M
GM
Kaye
W M
WM
Hanchett
J M
JM
McConaha
C W
CW
North
W G
WG
Leckman
J F
JF
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001127:Arginine Vasopressin / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010121:Oxytocin / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D011218:Prader-Willi Syndrome / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D012016:Reference Values; D012727:Sex Characteristics
D001127:Arginine Vasopressin; D010121:Oxytocin