Over the past two decades much progress had been made with respect to elucidating the neurobiological origins of OCD.  A study published in the journal Psychiatry Research sought to determine the relationship between OCD and levels of neurotrophic factors; neurotrophic factors are chemicals that enhance the growth of nerve cells.  In this study, levels of the neurotrophic factors Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF), Nerve Growth Factor (NGF), and Glial Cell-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (GNDF) were measured.  It was found that in comparison to the control group, patients with OCD had significantly lower levels of BDNF and significantly higher levels of NGF.  Lower levels of BDNF predicted number of working days lost to OCD symptoms.  Higher levels of NGF and GNDF predicted more severe OCD symptoms.  As this study was largely correlational in nature it cannot be concluded that OCD is caused by such a neutrophin profile; however, these results certainly suggest that further research in this area is warranted.

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Although medication can bring relief to many with OCD symptoms, roughly one-third of individuals are not able to benefit from standard treatments.  A recent study in the Journal of Psychopharmacology sought to investigate whether adding the drug lamotrigine to standard treatment with serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SRIs) would improve OCD symptoms.  Using a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled design the study authors found that adding lamotrigine to standard treatment with SRIs significantly improved OCD symptoms compared to treatment with an SRI and placebo. Although they used a small sample size, these results suggest that lamotragine may help treatment-resistant OCD.

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A recent study in the Journal of Clinical Psychology sought to examine how OCD obsessions related to religious or moral fears impacted on individual's selection of treatment providers, their day-to-day religious experiences and conceptions of God.  In this study, 72 individuals with scrupulous OCD and 72 individuals with non-scrupulous OCD completed an online survey.  Overall, the investigators found that severity of symptoms was equal across the two groups.  Perhaps unsurprisingly, the individuals with scrupulous OCD were more religious, more likely to seek pastoral counseling, less likely to seek medication treatment, and more likely to report that symptoms interfered with their religious experience.  Among individuals with scrupulous OCD, the more negative the concept of God held by the individual, the more severe their symptoms. Interestingly, about 20% of the sample with scrupulous OCD did not report any specific religious affiliation.

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Although selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) can be helpful in reducing the intensity and frequency of OCD symptoms in children, many cases of pediatric OCD are only partially responsive to medication.  As such, a recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association sought to examine whether adding CBT to standard medical treatment with SSRIs improved outcomes in individuals ages 7 to 17 with OCD.   Using a randomized control design the investigators found that the addition of CBT to the standard medication protocol yielded a significantly better response rate than medication alone.

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