Mental health conditions such as obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) could be treated in a new way using drugs that target the immune system, research suggests.
Published in the journal Brain, Behavior and Immunity, the study found that patients suffering from (OCD) have increased levels of a protein called Immuno-moodulin (Imood) in their lymphocytes, a type of immune cell.
“Our findings overturn a lot of conventional thinking about mental health disorders being solely caused by the central nervous system,” said study lead author Fulvio D’Acquisto from the University of Roehampton in the UK.
According to the researchers, mice with high levels of this protein was also found to exhibit behaviours that are characteristic of anxiety and stress, such as digging and excessive grooming.
When they treated the mice with an antibody that neutralised Imood, the animals’ anxiety levels reduced.
The findings have led the researchers to file a patent application for the antibody and they are now working with a drug company to develop a potential treatment for human patients.
“There is mounting evidence that the immune system plays an important role in mental disorders. And in fact people with auto-immune diseases are known to have higher than average rates of mental health disorders such as anxiety, depression and OCD,” he said. (IANS)
