title: Sleep onset REM periods in obsessive compulsive disorder.
abstract: Sleep studies in patients with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) are sparse and results inconsistent. Moreover, in 3 out of 4 published studies up to 50% of patients suffered from secondary major depression. In this study, 10 inpatients with a DSM-IV diagnosis of OCD without comorbid major depression (Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) score >15; Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD)-21 total score <17) and 10 healthy matched controls were included. Polysomnography of patients (7 males, 3 females, 34.5+/-12.7 years, Y-BOCS: 27.8+/-4.6, HAMD-21: 13.3+/-1.9) and controls (7 males, 3 females, 34.4+/-12.8 years) was recorded, following an adaptation night. Sleep variables did not significantly differ in both groups except that stage 4 sleep was reduced in patients. Three of the patients with OCD, however, exhibited sleep onset REM periods (SOREMPs), i.e. rapid-eye-movement (REM) latencies <10 min. Obsessive compulsive symptoms were significantly (P<0.05) more severe in these patients (Y-BOCS: 32+/-2.0) compared to those without SOREMPs (Y-BOCS 26+/-4.2). This is, to our knowledge, the first report of sleep onset REM periods in OCD.
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany. kluge@mpipsykl.mpg.de
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kluge
authors.forename: Petra
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Schüssler
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dresler
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yassouridis
authors.forename: Axel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Steiger
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D010343:Patient Admission; D017286:Polysomnography; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D012016:Reference Values; D012894:Sleep Stages / Q000502:physiology; D012895:Sleep, REM / Q000502:physiology*