DIRT provides hope for OCD hand washers
16 June 2008
A new treatment for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) pioneered at the University of Sydney is having great success by targeting the beliefs behind the obsessive behaviour rather than the behaviour itself.
Now this is interesting. The OCD I live with has, so far, proven to be uh, treatment resistant. So I am always looking for new forms of treatment. And this sounds promising. … Read The Rest >>
“Our study results,” Dr. Saito told Reuters Health, “support the widely held view that the orbital prefrontal region is involved in the pathophysiology of OCD. It is important that the results also indicate that the OFC (orbitofrontal circuit) influences symptom severity in patients with OCD.”
More evidence that it really is, “all … Read The Rest >>
This is really interesting. It points to something not working correctly that had not been suspected in OCD before. And it was apparently serendipitous as well.
Gene Triggers Obsessive Compulsive Disorder-Like Syndrome in Mice: Study Suggests New Treatment Targets: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
Using genetic engineering, researchers have created an obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) - like set of behaviors in mice and reversed them with antidepressants and genetic targeting of a … Read The Rest >>
U of M study identifies medication that helps people with obsessive-compulsive disorder
The drug, D-Cycloserine, is believed to help accelerate “extinction learning.” On a basic level, people associate positive or negative feelings with various cues from the external world. Behavioral therapy attempts to help the person disassociate problematic reactions that are either positive (e.g., craving to use an addictive substance) or negative (e.g., fear of some catastrophic outcome) from the cues that trigger these feelings.
Apparently … Read The Rest >>
In this study of brain imaging; Identifying patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder using whole-brain anatomy. it was found that they could identify with a slightly better the 93% accuracy rate folks that have OCD over those that don’t by looking at the whole brain image.
There is probably some good news in that. But as this article (complete with brain images) points out, there could be some negative consequences of this technology.
Somewhat unsettling.
