This Article  • References  • Full text PDF  • Reply to article  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citation map  • Citing articles on HighWire  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Similar articles in this journal  Social Bookmarking   What's this?

Bijan Bastani, MD; J. Frank Nash, PhD; Herbert Y. Meltzer, MD

Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1990;47(9):833-839.

Abstract
• To examine further the serotoninergic system in obsessivecompulsive disorder (OCD), the plasma concentrations of cortisol and prolactin and the behavioral responses after oral administration of MK-212 (6-chloro-2-[1-piperazinyl]-pyrazine), a serotonin agonist, and placebo were studied in 17 patients with OCD and nine normal controls. The two groups did not differ significantly in basal plasma prolactin or cortisol levels. Nevertheless, both the prolactin and cortisol response to oral administration of MK-212 (20 mg) were significantly blunted in the patients with OCD compared with those of the normal controls. MK-212 did not affect the intensity of OCD symptoms. However, MK-212, as compared with placebo, produced slight but statistically significant increases in self-ratings of nausea, dizziness, anxiety, feeling strange, and mixed feelings of calmness and restlessness, as well as depression and feeling high. These behavioral ratings were not significantly different in patients and normal controls. These findings are consistent with previous reports of diminished serotoninergic responsivity in OCD and raise the possibility of subsensitivity of at least some serotonin receptors in this disorder.

Author Affiliations
From the Psychobiology Clinic, Laboratory of Biological Psychiatry, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio.

Footnotes
Accepted for publication December 7, 1989.

Reprint requests to Psychobiology Clinic, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, 2040 Abington Rd, Cleveland, OH 44106 (Dr Bastani).

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter     What's this?

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES

BAP/SKB Young Psychopharmacologist Award Towards a neuroendocrinology of obsessive-compulsive disorder
Lucey
J Psychopharmacol 1994;8:250-257.
ABSTRACT  

Neuroendocrine Response to L-5-Hydroxytryptophan Challenge in Prepubertal Major Depression: Depressed vs Normal Children
Ryan et al.
Arch Gen Psychiatry 1992;49:843-851.
ABSTRACT  

Serotonergic Function in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Behavioral and Neuroendocrine Responses to Oral m-Chlorophenylpiperazine and Fenfluramine in Patients and Healthy Volunteers
Hollander et al.
Arch Gen Psychiatry 1992;49:21-28.
ABSTRACT