title: Lower levels of whole blood serotonin in obsessive-compulsive disorder and in schizophrenia with obsessive-compulsive symptoms.
abstract: It has been reported that some schizophrenic patients suffer from obsessive-compulsive symptoms (OCS), and clozapine treatment is quite often associated with an occurrence/increase of OCS in schizophrenic patients. The aim of the study was to explore whether differences would exist in the clinical symptomatology and the whole blood serotonin (5-HT) concentrations in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), schizophrenic patients with and without OCS (S+OCS, S-OCS), and clozapine-treated schizophrenic patients with and without clozapine-induced OCS (CLZ+OCS, CLZ-OCS). We found that S+OCS patients (n=15) showed significantly lower scores on the Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA), but similar levels of compulsions and obsessions using Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (YBOCS) as compared to the patients (n=35) with OCD. S+OCS patients scored significantly lower on the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) but higher on the Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD) compared with S-OCS patients (n=19). However, CLZ+OCS patients (n=15) suffered from dominant compulsions but fewer obsessions compared with the OCD and S+OCS patients. OCD, S+OCS and CLZ+OCS groups had significantly lower levels of whole blood 5-HT than did the healthy volunteers (n=15), S-OCS and CLZ-OCS groups. It suggests that alterations in serotonin metabolism may be a common biological characteristic of OCS in OCD as well as in schizophrenia.
authors.affiliation: Mental Health Institute, the Second Hospital of Xiangya Medical College, Central South University, Changsha 41001, Hunan, China.
authors.forename: Ning
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: Li-wen
authors.initials: LW
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.forename: Qiang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Ze-xuan
authors.initials: ZX
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Ling-jiang
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003024:Clozapine / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000097:blood* / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D012701:Serotonin / Q000097:blood*; D013223:Statistics as Topic
chemical_list: D014150:Antipsychotic Agents; D012701:Serotonin; D003024:Clozapine