Morphine May Help Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

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Post notes and editors comments before article.
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I post this for the simple fact that OCD and Tourette's can
generate
a disruption in a similar part of the brain. Sometimes what helps
one will also help the other, i.e. SSRI's used to treat both.

First Note,****** Haloperidol (Haldol) is a controlled substance
used to treat Tourettes which acts as a dopamine receptor blocker
and thus indicates that TS is based upon over-productive dopamine
neurons or oversensitive dopamine receptors. Drugs which stimulate
these neurons or receptors aggravate Tourette Symptoms, including
amphetamines, Ritalin, cocaine and morphine.*******

Key Note however, *******(In small doses morphine was observed to
reduce TS, yet is a dopamine stimulator, providing seeming
contradiction. However, this effect actually supports the evidence
since small doses binds first to the receptors, stimulating them and
comparatively inhibiting the neuron discharge. In higher doses it
binds to and stimulates the neurons, making the" symptoms worse.)
…

"Connections between TS and OCD include: Onset early in life,
lifelong development, waxing and waning, intrusive and ego-attacking
behaviors, bizarre violent and aggressive themes, family history,
aggravated by anxiety and depression, responds to medication, can be
caused by other neurological disruptions such as postencephalic
states and amphetamine overdose. In a study of OCD in 93 twins,
concordance was recorded in 70 percent of identical twins and only
15 percent in fraternal twins. All these twins lived separately and
were not aware of each others' symptoms, yet the OCD started at
their same ages and developed a very similar course. (16) Another
study reported 25 percent of OCD patients had a parent or sibling
with the disorder. (17)"


Paul Marshall
editor@...
Paul Marshall
editor@...
http://www.tourettes-disorder.com

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Morphine May Help Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - For people with obsessive-compulsive
disorder (OCD) who have not been helped by standard drug treatments,
a weekly dose of oral morphine may ease their symptoms, according to
a small pilot study.


The newer class of antidepressants known as SRIs is approved for
treating OCD, but up to 40 percent of patients fail to respond to
two or more of these drugs, Dr. Lorrin M. Koran and his associates
explain in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.


Quite why morphine can be effective is not known, but other small
studies have suggested a role for drugs that interact with opioid
receptors because there is a high concentration of opioid receptors
in an area of the brain thought to be involved in OCD.


For their trial, Koran's group enrolled 23 subjects with OCD who had
tried anywhere from two to six different SRIs. The participants were
assigned to once-weekly oral morphine, the anti-anxiety drug
lorazepam, or an inactive placebo, in random order for two weeks
each.


Average scores on a standard OCD scale declined from 29 to 25 while
the subjects were taking morphine, and to 27 in the lorazepam phase.


Seven of the 23 subjects were deemed to be responders to morphine
based on score decreases of 25 percent or more. There were four
subjects who responded to lorazepam.


Among those responding to morphine, the most noticeable effect began
the day after taking the drug and lasted for two to five days. These
individuals reported decreased frequency and persistence of
obsessions and anxiety, as well as an increased ability to resist
their compulsions.


The researchers saw no euphoric effects from taking the drugs --
although one subject later admitted to having abused hydrocodone for
several years, which he said reduced his OCD symptoms.


"The response seen, its rapidity, and the relative tolerability of
the treatment are encouraging and warrant larger and longer term
studies" of morphine or other opiate drugs for treatment-resistant
OCD, the team concludes.


SOURCE: Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, March 2005.