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A discovery by researchers at the University of Cambridge that individuals with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and their close family members have distinctive patterns in their brain structure could help predict the risk of developing OCD and lead to more accurate diagnosis of the disorder.
The new findings, reported in the journal Brain, mark the first time that scientists have associated an anatomical trait with familial risk for the disorder.
OCD affects 2–3 per cent of the population and can consume the patient’s life, causing severe distress, alienation and anxiety.
They suffer from obsessions – unwanted, recurrent thoughts as well as compulsions – repetitive behaviours related to the obsessions.
Lara Menzies, in the Brain Mapping Unit at the University, said: “The current diagnosis of OCD available to psychiatrists is subjective and therefore knowledge of the underlying causes may lead to better diagnosis and ultimately improved clinical treatments.
“However, we have a long way to go to identify the genes contributing to the distinctive brain structure found in OCD patients and their relatives.
“We also need to identify other contributing factors for OCD, to understand why close relatives that share similar brain structures don’t always develop the disorder.”
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