Journal Information
Journal ID (publisher-id): BM
Journal ID (nlm-ta): Biochem Med (Zagreb)
Title: Biochemia Medica
Abbreviated Title: Biochem. Med. (Zagreb)
ISSN (print): 1330-0962
ISSN (electronic): 1846-7482
Publisher: Croatian Society of Medical Biochemistry and Laboratory Medicine
Article Information
Copyright statement: ©Croatian Society of Medical Biochemistry and Laboratory Medicine.
Copyright: 2023, Croatian Society of Medical Biochemistry
License (open-access):
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Date received: 02 June 2023
Date accepted: 09 October 2023
Publication date: 15 December 2023
Publication date: 15 February 2024
Volume: 34
Issue: 1
Electronic Location Identifier: 010503
Publisher ID: bm-34-1-010503
DOI: 10.11613/BM.2024.010503
Potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets for obsessive compulsive disorder: Evidences from clinical studies
Aarushi Sultania[1]
Shashank Venkatesan[1]
Dhruv Rishb Batra[1]
Keerthna Rajesh[1]
Rahul Vashishth[2]
Sudesh Ravi[2]
Author notes:
The first two authors contributed equally to this work.
[*] Corresponding author: faraz.ahmad@vit.ac.in
Author contributions
A Sultania, S Venkatesan: conception or design of the work; data analysis and interpretation, drafting the article, final approval of the version to be published, accountability for all aspects of the work. DR Batra, K Rajesh, R Vashishth, S Ravi: data acquisition, drafting the article, final approval of the version to be published, accountability for all aspects of the work. F Ahmad: conception or design of the work, data acquisition, data analysis and interpretation, drafting the article, critically revising the article, final approval of the version to be published, accountability for all aspects of the work.
The study proposes a set of potential biomarkers for obsessive compulsive disorder
Methods to assess their concentrations in biological samples are critically analyzed
Links between the disorder, diabetes and circadian disruptions are assessed
The implications of biomarkers as therapeutic biotargets are discussed
Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is a prevalent behavioral disorder with a complex etiology. However, the underlying pathogenic molecular pathways and the associated risk factors are largely obscure. This has hindered both the identification of relevant prognostic biomarkers and the development of effective treatment strategies. Because of the diverse range of clinical manifestations, not all patients benefit from therapies currently practiced in the clinical setting. Nevertheless, several lines of evidence indicate that neurotrophic, neurotransmitter, and oxidative signaling are involved in the pathophysiology of OCD. Based upon evidences from clinical (and pre-clinical studies), the present review paper sets out to decipher the utilities of three parameters (i.e. brain-derived neurotrophic factor; BDNF, noradrenalin-synthesizing enzyme dopamine beta-hydroxylase; DBH; and oxidative damage marker malondialdehyde; MDA) as diagnostic peripheral biomarkers as well as bio-targets for therapeutic strategies. While the data indicates promising results, there is necessitation for future studies to further confirm and establish these. Further, based again on the available clinical data, we investigated the possibilities of exploiting the etiological links between disruptions in the sleep-wake cycle and insulin signaling, and OCD for the identification of potential anti-OCD ameliorative agents with the ability to elicit multimodal effects, including attenuation of the alterations in BDNF, noradrenergic and redox pathways. In this respect, agomelatine and metformin may represent particularly interesting candidates; however, further clinical studies are warranted to establish these as singular or complementary medications in OCD subjects.
Keywords: obsessive compulsive disorder; biomarkers; brain-derived neurotrophic factor; malondialdehyde; dopamine beta-hydrolase
