Levels of nitric oxide, asymmetric dimethyl arginine, symmetric dimethyl arginine,and L-arginine in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Abstract

We aimed to investigate and compare to healthy controls the variations in the levels of nitric oxide (NO), asymmetric dimethyl arginine (ADMA), symmetric dimethyl arginine (SDMA), and L-arginine levels in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). We enrolled 30 patients with OCD and 30 healthy controls in the study consecutively. Diagnostic interviews of all participants were conducted with the Structured Clinical Interview for Axis I Disorders (SCID-I), and sociodemographic data of the participants were recorded. Patients scoring 10 points or more on the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale were enrolled in the study. The NO levels of patients with OCD were increased compared to the control group, but the increase was not statistically significant (P > 0.05). However, patients with OCD had significantly lower levels of ADMA, SDMA, and L-arginine compared with the controls (P < 0.001). We found a significant decrease in ADMA, SDMA, and L-arginine as NO inhibitors between the groups, possibly because of an increase in NO. However, the insignificant increase in NO suggests that ADMA, SDMA, and L-arginine play direct and potentially important roles in OCD biology.