Available Technologies

Background

OCD and process addictions are characterized by repetitive behaviors that are difficult for patients to voluntarily control, significantly impairing daily functioning.
Common pharmacological treatments for OCD include high-dose, long-term administration of antidepressants such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). However, over half of patients are classified as treatment-resistant, showing little or no response to antidepressants.
Moreover, process addictions - such as gaming disorder and internet addiction - are newly recognized behavioral conditions, and currently, no approved pharmacological treatments are available.

Description and Advantages

Leveraging proprietary analyses of large-scale medical datasets, researchers at Kyoto University developed a drug-induced mouse model of OCD that is unresponsive to SSRIs, effectively mimicking treatment-resistant OCD. In-depth analysis of the model revealed an imbalance between D1-and D2-receptor-positive neurons in the striatum leading to the identification of a key target gene and a promising therapeutic candidate capable of restoring this balance (Fig. 1).

⮚Offers hope for majority of OCD patients resistant to SSRIs
⮚Shared neural mechanisms in OCD and process addictions suggest newtherapeutic potential

Figure1.EffectofthecandidatedrugonRepetitiveBehaviorinanOCDMouseModel
Toevaluatethedrug'sefficacyinreducingrepetitivebehaviors,arodentmodelofcompulsivebehavior-specifically,therepeatedgnawingofbeddingmaterial-wasusedasanindexofOCD-likesymptoms.OCDmodelmicewereintraperitoneallyadministeredeitherthenewdrugcandidate,anexistingantidepressant(citalopram),ananxiolytic(diazepam),orvehiclecontroloncedaily.Stereotypicbehaviorwasobservedfor10minutesondays1and4oftreatment.Administrationofthenewdrugcandidateat3mg/kgsignificantlysuppressedstereotypicbehavior(left),whereasneithertheexistingantidepressantnortheanxiolyticshowedsignificanteffects(right).