By switching off a single gene in mice, Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) researchers have created rodents that behave anxiously and fixate on grooming. The genetically altered mice, which behave much like people with obsessive-compulsive disorder, could help scientists design new therapies for this debilitating condition.
This could lead to possible gene therapy in humans, (if we have the same mutation in that gene) or new chemical treatments.
Most people with OCD go for years, decades even, before seeking help or even being diagnosed. One of the main reasons for that is the fear of being stigmatized. We are very aware that our thoughts and behaviors are different, unusual or even bizarre. And they can certainly be embarrassing. So we learn to hide them and we can get very good at that. To our detriment.
winnipegsun.com – Manitoba – Attached stigma is worse than the disorder itself
It’s unfortunate that OCD sufferers are often stereotyped as being delusional, cat-collecting and unproductive, or seen as humorously crazy.
This article talks about that stigma.
This is a real nice article on OCD. It’s good to read something about OCD in the mainstream media that doesn’t emphasis the more uh, unusual aspects of this disorder. It’s a pretty good summary of what OCD is and where it comes from and it’s treatment. At least as to the current understanding of it all. Go read it.
When Worry Hijacks The Brain – TIME
We all think we know what OCD is, and most of the time we’re all wrong. It’s the nervous guy from Monk; it’s cranky Jack Nicholson in As Good As It Gets. In the end, though, things usually work out for them. They even get the girl, who sees them as a kind of adorable emotional fixer-upper.But OCD isn’t adorable. About 7 million adults, teens and children in the U.S. are now thought to have it in one form or another, and their pain is far worse than you probably know.
OCD In The News
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