A pilot study exploring the association of morphological changes with 5-HTTLPR polymorphism in OCD patients
Shinichi Honda1, Tomohiro Nakao1, Hiroshi Mitsuyasu1
1Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, 3-1-1 Maidashi Higashi-ku, Fukuoka, Japan.
Annals of General Psychiatry
|February 17, 2017
Summary
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) patients show distinct gray matter (GM) volume differences in the hippocampus and precentral gyrus. These neuroanatomical changes may be linked to the serotonin transporter gene (5-HTTLPR) polymorphism.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Genetics
- Psychiatry
Background:
- Serotonergic systems are implicated in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) pathogenesis.
- Neuroimaging studies reveal neuroanatomical abnormalities in OCD patients.
- Concurrent genetic and neuroanatomical assessments in OCD etiopathogenesis are limited.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between serotonin transporter gene (5-HTTLPR) polymorphism and gray matter (GM) volumes in OCD.
- To identify neuroanatomical differences associated with 5-HTTLPR in OCD patients compared to healthy controls.
Main Methods:
- Two-way ANOVA was used to analyze the interaction between 5-HTTLPR genotype and GM volumes.
- Study included 40 OCD patients and 40 healthy controls (HCs).
Main Results:
- OCD patients exhibited reduced GM volume in the right hippocampus and increased GM volume in the left precentral gyrus compared to HCs.
- A statistical trend indicated stronger effects of 5-HTTLPR polymorphism on the right frontal pole in OCD patients versus HCs.
Conclusions:
- Specific GM region alterations in OCD may serve as endophenotypes for 5-HTTLPR polymorphism.
- Findings suggest a genetic contribution to neuroanatomical variations in OCD.
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