Impact of Genomics on OCD (obsessive-compulsive Disorder)

New findings on the genomics impacts risk for OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder) may help formulate new treatments for the disorder.

Impact of genomics on OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder) may open a new door of management as per a study at The Mount Sinai Hospital / Mount Sinai School Of Medicine, published in the American Journal of Psychiatry.

The study states that both rare and commonly observed differences in the DNA letters strung along a person’s chromosomes can explain about a third of the risk for being diagnosed with OCD.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) may Hold Varied Genetic Mutations
Distinct patterns of genetic mutations are linked with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in humans.

‘New findings on the genomics impacts risk for OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder) may help formulate new treatments for the disorder.’

Impact of Genomics

OCD is characterized by a set of potentially life-long, debilitating, and distressing recurring thoughts and actions. It affects 2% of Americans. Previous data have found that genomic differences between individuals in a population may contribute to 25 to 50% of the risk for OCD behaviors.

The present study compared the genomic data (SNPs – single nucleotide polymorphisms, the minor DNA spelling differences) of 2,090 Swedish-born OCD individuals with 4,567 controls.

Personalized Medicine
Personalized medicine is an advanced method to predict risk of a human to a disease and its early treatment. It is tailor-made precision medicine with least side effects. Pharmacogenomics is the novel concept based on which personalized medicine is designed.

It was found that nearly 29% of the OCD risk was attributed to differences in SNPs between patients and control subjects and ~ 90% of these differences are commonly observed throughout the general population.

In addition, it was also found that about 10% of the risk could be linked to rare genomic differences – a novel finding.

Potential Target for Anxiety and OCD Identified
Researchers have discovered the common neural circuit and potential target for anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder.

The study thereby supports the idea that OCD risk may, in part, be driven by randomly occurring changes to the entire genome (rather than a few naturally selected “hot spots”).

Source-Medindia