title: Structural brain MR imaging changes associated with obsessive-compulsive disorder in patients with multiple sclerosis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Psychiatric symptoms occur in approximately 30% of patients with MS. Such symptoms include OCD, which may interfere heavily with the patient's daily life. We hypothesized that the widespread involvement of both GM and WM, which characterizes MS, may be responsible for the occurrence of OCD when specific brain structures are affected. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between GM and WM tissue damage and OCD in patients with MS.
  
  
  METHODS
  We evaluated 16 patients with relapsing-remitting MS who had been diagnosed with OCD on the basis of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th edition) and 15 age- and sex-matched patients with relapsing-remitting MS with no psychiatric disorders as a CG. The MR study (1.5T) included 3D T1-weighted fast-field echo sequences, DTI (32 directions), and conventional MRI. Images were processed using SPM5, FSL, and Jim 5.0 software to evaluate VBM, TBSS, and global and regional LV, respectively.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The VBM analysis revealed a set of clusters of reduced GM volume in the OCD group, compared with the CG, located in the right inferior and middle temporal gyri and in the inferior frontal gyrus. TBSS did not detect any differences in the FA values between the 2 groups; global and regional LV values also did not differ significantly between the 2 groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our study suggests that OCD in MS may be caused by damage in the right frontotemporal cortex.
authors: Department of Neurology and Psychiatry, Sapienza University of Rome, Viale dell’Universitá 30, 00185 Rome, Italy. ematine@libero.it
authors: E
authors: E
authors: Tinelli
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Francia
authors: E M
authors: EM
authors: Quartuccio
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Morreale
authors: G M
authors: GM
authors: Contessa
authors: S
authors: S
authors: Pascucci
authors: E
authors: E
authors: Sbardella
authors: C
authors: C
authors: Pozzilli
authors: P
authors: P
authors: Pantano
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000473:pathology*; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020529:Multiple Sclerosis, Relapsing-Remitting / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology*; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000473:pathology*