Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
- Epidemiology
- Comorbidity
- OCD and Tic Disorder
- OCD and Depression
- OCD and Other Anxiety Disorders
- OCD and Phobia
- OCD and OCPD
- OCD and Schizophrenia
- Course and Prognosis
- Etiology
- Specific Clinical Response
- Serotonin Antagonists
- Pharmacological Challenges
- Dopamine
- Immune Factors
- Brain Imaging Studies
- Genetics
- Other Biological Data
- Behavioral Factors
- Psychosocial Factors
- Treatment of OCD
- Efficacy of Serotonergic vs Adrenergic Antidepressants
- Long Term Treatment of OCD
- Drug Dosage
- Psychological Approaches
- Treatment Resistant OCD
- Switching Medications
- Augmentation
- Risperidone
- Pindolol
- Other Options
- Intravenous Clomipramine
- Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors
- Last-line Therapies
Dopamine for OCD: Natural, Effects, Depression
The most compelling evidence for dopaminergic involvement in OCD comes from the abundance of OCD symptoms in basal ganglia disorders, such as TS, Sydenham’s chorea and post-encephalitic Parkinsonism. The therapeutic benefits obtained through the co-administration of dopamine blockers and SRIs in a subset of OCD patients with tic disorders has also suggested a role for dopamine dysfunction. A study evaluating levels of platelet sulphotransferase, an enzyme involved in the catabolism of catecholamines (providing a marker of presynaptic dopamine function), reported a decreased level of platelet H3-imipramine binding and a parallel increase in the level of sulphotransferase activity in OCD as compared with controls. This provides further support for the hypothesis of reduced 5-HT activity and increased dopamine transmission in OCD