Antioxidant Enzyme Activities and Malondialdehyde Levels in Patients with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Abstract

To examine the importance of free radicals in the pathogenesis of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), we aimed to evaluate whether malondialdehyde (MDA), a product of lipid peroxidation, and antioxidant enzyme [superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and catalase (CAT)] activity levels were associated with OCD. The patients were divided into two subgroups according to whether DSM-IV major depressive disorder (MDD) was accompanied (OCD + MDD) or not (OCD – MDD). The MDA and antioxidant enzyme levels both in patients and controls were determined. SOD activity levels were significantly higher in the OCD + MDD group compared with the control and the OCD – MDD group. Although the OCD – MDD group had slightly higher SOD activity levels as compared with the controls, the difference was not statistically significant. GSH-Px activity levels were statistically significantly higher in both groups compared with controls. Likewise, there was a significant difference in GSH-Px activity levels between the OCD + MDD and OCD – MDD group. CAT activity levels were slightly higher in the OCD + MDD group compared with the OCD – MDD and control group. MDA levels in both groups were significantly higher than in controls. In addition, the difference in MDA levels between both groups was statistically significant. In conclusion, our results suggest that OCD is associated with free radicals and that it may be a heterogeneous subtype including some biological indications of anxiety and affective disorders. More comprehensive and detailed studies are needed to decipher the exact role of free radicals in OCD.

Study of oxidative stress in obsessive compulsive disorder in response to treatment with Fluoxetine

“…Similarly, a significant decrease in plasma ascorbate in the pretreatment group signified a compromised ascorbate in the brain tissues. Ascorbate has been found to play the role of chief antioxidant in the brain in several earlier studies (11) and its compromised level has been found to be associated with several neurological and psychiatric diseases (17,18,19). In our present study the reduced plasma ascorbate in the pretreatment group, thus, could be suggested due to an increased lipid peroxidation in brain tissues of OCD patients.…”

Serum MDA and Vitamin C level in Conversion Disorder Patients

“…The serum concentration of MDA was significantly higher and that of vitamin C was significantly lower in Schizophrenic patients. 26 Similar findings were also found in obsessive-compulsive disorder 14,27,28 and in panic disorder. 29 …”

Alexithymia, suicidal ideation, and serum lipid levels among drug-naïve outpatients with obsessive-compulsive disorder

“…34 Cholesterol deficiency in neuronal membranes may also have a direct negative impact on synapse formation, dendritic outgrowth, and neuronal survival. 35 Moreover, as several studies have 36,37 shown that OCD patients may have increased oxidative stress and that this correlates with disease severity, we may speculate that lipid peroxidation might be one of the causes of reduced serum HDL-C and altered lipid profile in these patients. Alexithymia probably results from an inhibitory mechanism that could contribute to a suppression of emotional processing within the right hemisphere and to poorer verbalization of emotional contents (within the left hemisphere).…”