MRI assessment of children with obsessive-compulsive disorder or tics associated with streptococcal infection.
OBJECTIVE
The authors assessed selective basal ganglia involvement in a subgroup of children with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and/or tics believed to be associated with streptococcal infection.


METHODS
Using computer-assisted morphometric techniques, they analyzed the cerebral magnetic resonance images of 34 children with presumed streptococcus-associated OCD and/or tics and 82 healthy comparison children who were matched for age and sex.


RESULTS
The average sizes of the caudate, putamen, and globus pallidus, but not of the thalamus or total cerebrum, were significantly greater in the group of children with streptococcus-associated OCD and/or tics than in the healthy children. The differences were similar to those found previously for subjects with Sydenham's chorea compared with normal subjects.


CONCLUSIONS
These results support the hypothesis that there is a distinct subgroup of subjects with OCD and/or tics who have enlarged basal ganglia. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis of an autoimmune response to streptococcal infection.
Giedd
J N
JN
Child Psychiatry and Pediatrics and Developmental Neuropsychiatry Branch of NIMH, Bethesda, MD 20892-1600, USA. jgiedd@helix.nih.gov
Rapoport
J L
JL
Garvey
M A
MA
Perlmutter
S
S
Swedo
S E
SE
D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000209:etiology; D015551:Autoimmunity; D001479:Basal Ganglia / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000276:immunology; D001921:Brain / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D002421:Caudate Nucleus / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D002648:Child; D002819:Chorea / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D005917:Globus Pallidus / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000276:immunology; D011699:Putamen / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D013290:Streptococcal Infections / Q000150:complications* / Q000276:immunology; D013788:Thalamus / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D020323:Tics / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000276:immunology