New Therapy Studied for OCD Patients

University of Rochester scientists are studying whether a new therapy for Parkinson’s disease might also help treat obsessive-compulsive disorder.

The study, part of a five-year, $3.5 million federal grant, involves measuring whether a therapy called Deep Brain Stimulation can reduce the rampant anxiety that keeps some OCD patients homebound.

DBS uses implanted microstimulators to block abnormal nerve signals sent between brain structures. Researchers have successfully used such so-called brain pacemakers to treat movement disorders, such as those produced by Parkinson’s disease.

The researchers will also attempt to determine exactly which brain network is disrupted in OCD in hopes of fine-tuning treatment.

OCD, a chronic anxiety disorder affecting 2.2 million Americans, inflicts patients with obsessions and the urgent need to repeat behaviors that can relieve anxiety.

DBS is one of the most promising areas of OCD research because early studies show it may help many within the approximately 20 percent of OCD patients for whom neither psychological nor drug therapy works, said Suzanne Haber, a professor of pharmacology and physiology and lead investigator for the grant.