ANTIDEPRESSANT EFFECTS ON REGIONAL CEREBRAL BLOOD FLOW IN OCD

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The study examines the effect of two different antidepressants, one a serotonin reuptake inhibitor and another a norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor on depression and obsessive-compulsive symptoms. SPECT scans taken before and at the end of treatment examined changes in cerebral blood flow related to medication and clinical cores. Seventeen patients have completed the study. All seventeen patients had SPECT scans before medication and after twelve weeks of medication and also had MRI'S. An additional three patients had only one scan because they dropped out of the study before completion. The study is completed and the data have been analyzed with preliminary results presented at the ACNP meeting in San Juan, December 1995. The study has been completed and the data has been analyzed. The findngs are as follows: 1) Patients who responded to medication also showed change of rCBF (reduced blood flow in anterior frontal region, more right than left). Patients who did not improve showed no such change. 2) Patients who subsequently improved had higher rCBF in medial frontal region and caudate than those who did not improve when scanned before they were placed on medication. Based on these findings, we applied for a grant to the NIMH.