title: Serotoninergic mechanisms in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder.
abstract: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a disabling psychiatric condition affecting 1-2% of the community. Although modern drug, behavioral and psychosurgical therapies have improved the prognosis of OCD considerably, approximately 30% of patients remain treatment-refractory. Currently, selective serotonin (5-HT) reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are the drug treatments of choice for OCD. Accordingly, this review evaluates the evidence for a role of the serotonin (5-HT) neurochemical system in the treatment and pathophysiology of OCD. However, drug treatment approaches that modify function of interrelated neurochemical systems, such as the dopamine and glutamate systems, are also briefly discussed as they promise to complement and enhance SSRI treatment effects.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Indiana University School of Medicine, University Hospital, UH3124, 550 North University Boulevard, Indianapolis, IN 46202, United States. agoddard@iupui.edu
authors.forename: Andrew W
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Goddard
authors.forename: Anantha
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shekhar
authors.forename: Aaron F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Whiteman
authors.forename: Christopher J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: McDougle
mesh_terms: D014151:Anti-Anxiety Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004298:Dopamine / Q000502:physiology; D018492:Dopamine Antagonists / Q000627:therapeutic use; D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005971:Glutamates / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism; D012701:Serotonin / Q000502:physiology*; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D014151:Anti-Anxiety Agents; D004298:Dopamine; D018492:Dopamine Antagonists; D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists; D005971:Glutamates; D012701:Serotonin; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid