This is my attempt to burrow through the miles of research performed on OCD and to provide some summary thoughts and analysis of the results thus far. It occurs from a purely lay perspective, as I am not a qualified mental health professional.
Sleep:
- Voderholzer U, Riemann D, Hohagen F, et al. Sleep in obsessive compulsive disorder. European Archives of Psychiatry & Clinical Neuroscience [serial online]. April 2007;257(3):173-182. Available from: Academic Search Premier, Ipswich, MA. Accessed July 26, 2011. Note: This study is sizeable in scope and appears to be rigorous in methodology. It compares the sleep patterns of individuals suffering OCD (primarily) with that of healthy controls. It does find that OCD sufferers have impaired sleep, though primarily in non-REM phases. This is in sharp contrast to studies on individuals suffering depression (primarily) which do demonstrate significant changes in REM sleep. The study also includes a sub-group (OCD/healthy) which have their tryptophan levels artificially reduced.
Spectrum Disorders:
- Ravindran A, da Silva T, Ravindran L, Richter M, Rector N. Obsessive-Compulsive Spectrum Disorders: A Review of the Evidence-Based Treatments. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry [serial online]. May 2009;54(5):331-343. Available from: Academic Search Premier, Ipswich, MA. Accessed July 26, 2011. Note: Reviews the literature available from the late 1960’s through to 2007 regarding various OCSD disorders including BDD, hypochondriasis, trichotillomania, pathological gambling, and so on. It provides insight into the most effective treatments – both pharmacological and therapeutic – for each disorder.
Oxidative Stress:
- Behl A, Swami G, Sircar S, Bhatia M, Banerjee B. Relationship of Possible Stress-Related Biochemical Markers to Oxidative/Antioxidative Status in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. Neuropsychobiology [serial online]. April 2010;61(4):210-214. Available from: Academic Search Premier, Ipswich, MA. Accessed July 26, 2011. Note: Found a statistically significant increase in superoxide dismutase (SOD) and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels in OCD patients than in healthy control patients. Suggested that treatments targeted at reducing levels of MDA may assist in reducing OCD symptoms.
Glutamate:
- Bloch, Michael H., Coric, Vladimir, Pittenger, Christopher. New Horizons in OCD Research and the Potential Importance of Glutamate: Can We Develop Treatments That Work Better and Faster? International OCD Foundation. Accessed: July 26, 2011. Note: An optimistic article relating both clinical case studies and recent studies at the author’s practices indicating the potential for medications interacting with glutamate to treat both OCD and Depression.
Interpersonal Relationships:
- Abbey R, Clopton J, Humphreys J. Obsessive–compulsive disorder and romantic functioning. Journal of Clinical Psychology [serial online]. December 2007;63(12):1181-1192. Available from: Academic Search Premier, Ipswich, MA. Accessed July 26, 2011. Note: This study is based on responses to surveys given to individuals with OCD. It attempts to determine the impact of OCD on romantic relationships. Overall, the report sees a negative correlation between severity of symptoms and romantic relationships, with the exception of a few (such as washing) which showed a positive correlation requiring further study.