Absence Of Specific Protein In Brain May Cause Obsessive-compulsive Disorder (OCD) Says Study

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An absence of a specific protein called SPRED2 in regions of the brain may be the cause of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) says study. German researchers used mouse models, and they discovered that without the protein could lead to the disorder's manifestations.

"We could show in mouse models that the absence of the protein SPRED2 alone can trigger an excessive grooming behavior." Professor Kai Schuh from the Institute of Physiology at the Julius-Maximilians-Universitat (JMU) Wurzburg in Germany said.

According to Science Daily, the protein SPRED2 is located specifically in high concentrations in the basal ganglia and the amygdala. Under normal body physiology, the protein functions to inhibit the Ras/ERK-MAP kinase cascade, which is a significant signal pathway of the cell.

However, when SPRED2 is missing, it causes the signal pathway to be overactive than usual leading to obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), Dr. Melanie Ullrich said. The researchers administered an inhibitor to weaken the hyperactive signal cascade in the experimental animal. They then observed that the OCD's symptoms were improved.

According to PsychCentral, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is exhibited by a deep adherence to an extreme orderliness and perfectionism. People, who have the disorder got angry easily in situations wherein they are not in control of their physical or interpersonal environment. They may also show affections in a controlled manner, but they might be disturbed by others who are emotionally expressive.

The recent discoveries between the association of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and Ras/ERK-MAP kinase cascade provide the way for new objectives in therapy. The study’s complete results were published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry.

Drugs that interfere with the cascade are now available, and some of them were approved for human use. According to Dr. Ullrich, these are actually cancer drugs since overactivation of the Ras/ERK-MAP kinase cascade also triggers cancer frequently.