The Role of Antioxidants in the Management of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Fatemeh Baratzadeh,Amirhossein Sahebkar,Sepideh Elyasi,Amir Hooshang Mohammadpour,Sofia Salari,Guodong Zhang

doi:10.1155/2021/6661514

Abstract

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a chronic neuropsychiatric disorder that has a significant effect on the quality of life. The most effective treatment for OCD is the combination of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) with cognitive behavior therapy (CBT). However, several adverse effects have been linked with this usual pharmacotherapy, and it is unsuccessful in many patients. The exact pathophysiology of OCD is not completely known, though the role of oxidative stress in its pathogenesis has been proposed recently. This review presents an overview of animal and human studies of antioxidant treatment for OCD. The use of antioxidants against oxidative stress is a novel treatment for several neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disorders. Among antioxidants, NAC was one of the most studied drugs on OCD, and it showed a significant improvement in OCD symptoms. Thus, antioxidants could be promising as an adjuvant treatment for OCD. However, a limited number of human studies are conducted on these agents, and for better judgment, human studies with a large sample size are necessary.

Highlights

Estimates indicate that 1–3% of the population are affected by obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) as a chronic neuropsychiatric disease, which severely harms the quality of life [1]
Due to the limitations of the conventionally used pharmacotherapeutic medications for OCD, there is a need for newer strategies to improve the symptoms of the disease
The potential issue in this review was that some medicinal plants with in vitro evidences have not been examined in human studies

Summary

Introduction

Estimates indicate that 1–3% of the population are affected by obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) as a chronic neuropsychiatric disease, which severely harms the quality of life [1]. Skin picking (excoriation), and hairpulling disorder (trichotillomania) formerly known as OCD; in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-version 5 (DSM-5), they are in the obsessive-compulsive-related disorders (OCRD) section (Figures 1) [2]. The most well-known pathophysiology of OCD is anomalies of the central nervous system (CNS), in the serotonin, dopamine, and glutamate pathways [9, 10]. According to clinical guidelines [11], the first line of OCD treatment is cognitive behavior therapy and exposure and response prevention (CBT/ERP) or one selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) or a combination of one SSRI with CBT/ERP. The existing therapeutic methods are highly efficient, the treatment cannot be initiated or completed in many

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