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
Specific Clinical Response for OCD
Reports that clomipramine (CMI), a tricyclic antidepressant with a serotonergic profile, is effective in treating symptoms of OCD has directed researchers’ interest in the relationship between serotonin and OCD. Moreover, OCD is currently unique among psychiatric disorders, as only serotonergic medications appear to be effective in this disorder. For example, non-serotonergic drugs, such as desipramine (DMI), which are effective in depression and panic disorder, are entirely ineffective in OCD. While this does not necessarily reflect on pathogenesis, the specific response to serotonergic drugs has paved the way for further research on the role of serotonin in the pathogenesis of OCD in particular, and in OCD-related disorders in general. As yet, abnormality of the serotonergic system and particularly hypersensitivity of post-synaptic 5-HT (hydroxy tryptamine) receptors, constitute the leading hypothesis for the underlying pathophysiology of OCD.