Scientists from Yale University found antibodies that bind to particular brain cells called interneurons could cause OCD.
The finding shows an important cause of mental disease.
The research is published in the American Journal of Psychiatry and was conducted by Christopher Pittenger et al.
Pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders, or PANDAS, were first proposed in the 1990s.
Thought to be triggered by streptococcal infections, they account for an unknown portion of youth OCD cases. But the biology underpinning this disorder has baffled scientists.
These children have OCD, but they can also have severe separation anxiety, subtle motor symptoms, and show frequent need to urinate. Many refuse to eat.
While 1% to 3% of children will be diagnosed with OCD by the age of 17, the fraction of OCD cases that can be attributed to PANDAS is unknown.
Some doctors say there is not enough evidence to support PANDAS as a distinct diagnosis from OCD. Others, including many parents of children with the syndrome, argue it may account for a large subset of children with OCD.
In the study, the team explored the biology of the disorder in a series of experiments involving 27 children who met the strictest criteria for a PANDAS diagnosis and 23 control subjects.
They found that many children with a PANDAS diagnosis possess high levels of an antibody that can attack specific interneurons — neurons that modify the signaling of other nearby cells.
These antibodies are concentrated in the striatum, an area of the brain that is associated with voluntary motor control, among other functions, and are known to be involved in OCD.
When the antibody binds to these neurons, it reduces their activity.
Adults with Tourette syndrome, a related syndrome characterized by vocal and motor tics, lack the same specific striatal interneurons, suggesting that problems with these cells may play a role in several conditions.
The team aims to explore this biology in other children with OCD and Tourette syndrome to see how widespread interneuron-binding antibodies are in this group of related conditions.
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