Significant concordance of genetic variation that increases both the risk for obsessive-compulsive disorder and the volumes of the nucleus accumbens and putamen.

BACKGROUND: Many studies have identified changes in the brain associated with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), but few have examined the relationship between genetic determinants of OCD and brain variation.AimsWe present the first genome-wide investigation of overlapping genetic risk for OCD and genetic influences on subcortical brain structures. METHOD: Using single nucleotide polymorphism effect concordance analysis, we measured genetic overlap between the first genome-wide association study (GWAS) of OCD (1465 participants with OCD, 5557 controls) and recent GWASs of eight subcortical brain volumes (13 171 participants). RESULTS: We found evidence of significant positive concordance between OCD risk variants and variants associated with greater nucleus accumbens and putamen volumes. When conditioning OCD risk variants on brain volume, variants influencing putamen, amygdala and thalamus volumes were associated with risk for OCD. CONCLUSIONS: These results are consistent with current OCD neurocircuitry models. Further evidence will clarify the relationship between putamen volume and OCD risk, and the roles of the detected variants in this disorder.Declaration of interestThe authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Self-reported executive function and hoarding in adults with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

BACKGROUND: Hoarding behavior may distinguish a clinically and possibly etiologically distinct subtype of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Little is known about the relationship between executive dysfunction and hoarding in individuals with OCD. METHODS: The study sample included 431 adults diagnosed with DSM-IV OCD. Participants were assessed by clinicians for Axis I disorders, personality disorders, indecision, and hoarding. Executive functioning domains were evaluated using a self-report instrument, the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function-Adult Version (BRIEF-A). We compared scores on these domains in the 143 hoarding and 288 non-hoarding participants, separately in men and women. We used logistic regression to evaluate relationships between executive function scores and hoarding, and correlation and linear regression analyses to evaluate relationships between executive function scores and hoarding severity, in women. RESULTS: In men, the hoarding group had a significantly higher mean score than the non-hoarding group only on the shift dimension. In contrast, in women, the hoarding group had higher mean scores on the shift scale and all metacognition dimensions, i.e., those that assess the ability to systematically solve problems via planning and organization. The relationships in women between hoarding and scores on initiating tasks, planning/organizing, organization of materials, and the metacognition index were independent of other clinical features. Furthermore, the severity of hoarding in women correlated most strongly with metacognition dimensions. CONCLUSIONS: Self-reported deficits in planning and organization are associated with the occurrence and severity of hoarding in women, but not men, with OCD. This may have implications for elucidating the etiology of, and developing effective treatments for, hoarding in OCD.

Prevalence and predictors of hair pulling disorder and excoriation disorder in Tourette syndrome.

Trichotillomania/hair pulling disorder (HPD) and excoriation/skin picking disorder (SPD) are childhood-onset, body-focused repetitive behaviors that are thought to share genetic susceptibility and underlying pathophysiology with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and Tourette syndrome (TS). We sought to determine the prevalence of DSM-5 HPD and SPD in TS patients, and to identify clinical factors most associated with their co-morbidity with TS. Participants included 811 TS patients recruited from TS specialty clinics for a multi-center genetic study. Patients were assessed using standardized, validated semi-structured interviews. HPD and SPD diagnoses were determined using a validated self-report questionnaire. HPD/SPD prevalence rates were calculated, and clinical predictors were evaluated using regression modeling. 3.8 and 13.0% of TS patients met DSM-5 criteria for HPD and SPD, respectively. In univariable analyses, female sex, OCD, and both tic and obsessive-compulsive symptom severity were among those associated with HPD and/or SPD. In multivariable analyses, only lifetime worst-ever motor tic severity remained significantly associated with HPD. Female sex, co-occurring OCD, ADHD, and motor tic severity remained independently associated with SPD. This is the first study to examine HPD and SPD prevalence in a TS sample using semi-structured diagnostic instruments. The prevalence of HPD and SPD in TS patients, and their association with increased tic severity and co-occurring OCD, suggests that clinicians should screen children with TS and related disorders for HPD/SPD, particularly in females and in those with co-occurring OCD. This study also helps set a foundation for subsequent research regarding HPD/SPD risk factors, pathophysiology, and treatment models.

Rare Copy Number Variants in NRXN1 and CNTN6 Increase Risk for Tourette Syndrome.

Tourette syndrome (TS) is a model neuropsychiatric disorder thought to arise from abnormal development and/or maintenance of cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical circuits. TS is highly heritable, but its underlying genetic causes are still elusive, and no genome-wide significant loci have been discovered to date. We analyzed a European ancestry sample of 2,434 TS cases and 4,093 ancestry-matched controls for rare (< 1% frequency) copy-number variants (CNVs) using SNP microarray data. We observed an enrichment of global CNV burden that was prominent for large (> 1 Mb), singleton events (OR = 2.28, 95% CI [1.39-3.79], p = 1.2 × 10-3) and known, pathogenic CNVs (OR = 3.03 [1.85-5.07], p = 1.5 × 10-5). We also identified two individual, genome-wide significant loci, each conferring a substantial increase in TS risk (NRXN1 deletions, OR = 20.3, 95% CI [2.6-156.2]; CNTN6 duplications, OR = 10.1, 95% CI [2.3-45.4]). Approximately 1% of TS cases carry one of these CNVs, indicating that rare structural variation contributes significantly to the genetic architecture of TS.

Autism Spectrum Symptoms in a Tourette's Disorder Sample.

OBJECTIVE: Tourette's disorder (TD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) share clinical features and possibly an overlapping etiology. The aims of this study were to examine ASD symptom rates in participants with TD, and to characterize the relationships between ASD symptom patterns and TD, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). METHOD: Participants with TD (n = 535) and their family members (n =234) recruited for genetic studies reported TD, OCD, and ADHD symptoms and completed the Social Responsiveness Scale Second Edition (SRS), which was used to characterize ASD symptoms. RESULTS: SRS scores in participants with TD were similar to those observed in other clinical samples but lower than in ASD samples (mean SRS total raw score = 51; SD = 32.4). More children with TD met cut-off criteria for ASD (22.8%) than adults with TD (8.7%). The elevated rate in children was primarily due to high scores on the SRS Repetitive and Restricted Behaviors (RRB) subscale. Total SRS scores were correlated with TD (r = 0.27), OCD (r = 0.37), and ADHD (r = 0.44) and were higher among individuals with OCD symptom-based phenotypes than for those with tics alone. CONCLUSION: Higher observed rates of ASD among children affected by TD may in part be due to difficulty in discriminating complex tics and OCD symptoms from ASD symptoms. Careful examination of ASD-specific symptom patterns (social communication vs. repetitive behaviors) is essential. Independent of ASD, the SRS may be a useful tool for identifying patients with TD with impairments in social communication that potentially place them at risk for bullying and other negative sequelae.

Genome Wide Association Study (GWAS) between Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD).

Objective: The aim of this study was to identify any potential genetic overlap between attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). We hypothesized that since these disorders share a sub-phenotype, they may share common risk alleles. In this manuscript, we report the overlap found between these two disorders. Methods: A meta-analysis was conducted between ADHD and OCD, and polygenic risk scores (PRS) were calculated for both disorders. In addition, a protein-protein analysis was completed in order to examine the interactions between proteins; p-values for the protein-protein interaction analysis was calculated using permutation. Conclusion: None of the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) reached genome wide significance and there was little evidence of genetic overlap between ADHD and OCD.

An investigation of doubt in obsessive-compulsive disorder.

BACKGROUND: Clinicians have long considered doubt to be a fundamental characteristic of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). However, the clinical relevance of doubt in OCD has not been addressed. METHODS: Participants included 1182 adults with OCD who had participated in family and genetic studies of OCD. We used a clinical measure of the severity of doubt, categorized as none, mild, moderate, severe, or extreme. We evaluated the relationship between doubt and OCD clinical features, Axis I disorders, personality and personality disorder dimensions, impairment, and treatment response. RESULTS: The severity of doubt was inversely related to the age at onset of OCD symptoms. Doubt was strongly related to the number of checking symptoms and, to a lesser extent, to the numbers of contamination/cleaning and hoarding symptoms. Doubt also was related to the lifetime prevalence of recurrent major depression and generalized anxiety disorder; to the numbers of avoidant, dependent, and obsessive-compulsive personality disorder traits; and to neuroticism and introversion. Moreover, doubt was strongly associated with global impairment and poor response to cognitive behavioral treatment (CBT), even adjusting for OCD severity and other correlates of doubt. CONCLUSIONS: Doubt is associated with important clinical features of OCD, including impairment and cognitive-behavioral treatment response.

A Multisite Study of Family Functioning Impairment in Pediatric Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.

OBJECTIVE: Familial aspects of pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), including accommodation and treatment, have received notable and warranted attention. However, individual perspectives of its repercussions on family functioning, including emotional and occupational parental burden, have not been closely examined. The present study details this topic using a large multicenter sample. METHOD: Participants included 354 youth affected with OCD and their mothers and fathers ascertained through OCD programs in Boston, Massachusetts (n = 180) and Vancouver, British Columbia (n = 174). The validated OCD Family Functioning Scale and standard OCD measurements were completed. Descriptive, between-site, and cross-perspective comparative analyses were followed by regression model testing to predict family impairment. RESULTS: Family functioning was negatively affected from youth, mother, and father perspectives. Impairment was reportedly more extensive at the time of worst OCD severity and was greater from maternal versus paternal viewpoints. Most frequently affected family tasks and implicated OCD symptoms included morning and bedtime routines and intrusive thoughts. Emotional repercussions in all members included stress and anxiety, followed by frustration or anger in youth and sadness in parents. Nearly half of mothers and one third of fathers reported daily occupational impairment. Compared with youth self-report, parents perceived fewer social and academic effects on their child. Family accommodation most consistently predicted family impairment, especially from parent perspectives. OCD and compulsion severity, contamination and religious obsessions, and comorbidities also predicted various perspectives of family subdomain impairment. CONCLUSION: This study quantitatively details the pervasive burden that pediatric OCD places on families, as reported from complementary relative perspectives. Further attention to this topic is warranted in clinical and research realms.

Identification of Two Heritable Cross-Disorder Endophenotypes for Tourette Syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: Phenotypic heterogeneity in Tourette syndrome is partly due to complex genetic relationships among Tourette syndrome, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Identifying symptom-based endophenotypes across diagnoses may aid gene-finding efforts. METHOD: Assessments for Tourette syndrome, OCD, and ADHD symptoms were conducted in a discovery sample of 3,494 individuals recruited for genetic studies. Symptom-level factor and latent class analyses were conducted in Tourette syndrome families and replicated in an independent sample of 882 individuals. Classes were characterized by comorbidity rates and proportion of parents included. Heritability and polygenic load associated with Tourette syndrome, OCD, and ADHD were estimated. RESULTS: The authors identified two cross-disorder symptom-based phenotypes across analyses: symmetry (symmetry, evening up, checking obsessions; ordering, arranging, counting, writing-rewriting compulsions, repetitive writing tics) and disinhibition (uttering syllables/words, echolalia/palilalia, coprolalia/copropraxia, and obsessive urges to offend/mutilate/be destructive). Heritability estimates for both endophenotypes were high and statistically significant (disinhibition factor=0.35, SE=0.03; symmetry factor=0.39, SE=0.03; symmetry class=0.38, SE=0.10). Mothers of Tourette syndrome probands had high rates of symmetry (49%) but not disinhibition (5%). Polygenic risk scores derived from a Tourette syndrome genome-wide association study (GWAS) were significantly associated with symmetry, while risk scores derived from an OCD GWAS were not. OCD polygenic risk scores were significantly associated with disinhibition, while Tourette syndrome and ADHD risk scores were not. CONCLUSIONS: The analyses identified two heritable endophenotypes related to Tourette syndrome that cross traditional diagnostic boundaries. The symmetry phenotype correlated with Tourette syndrome polygenic load and was present in otherwise Tourette-unaffected mothers, suggesting that this phenotype may reflect additional Tourette syndrome (rather than OCD) genetic liability that is not captured by traditional DSM-based diagnoses.

Parental bonding and hoarding in obsessive-compulsive disorder.

BACKGROUND: Hoarding behavior may indicate a clinically and possibly etiologically distinct subtype of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Empirical evidence supports a relationship between hoarding and emotional over-attachment to objects. However, little is known about the relationship between hoarding and parental attachment in OCD. METHOD: The study sample included 894 adults diagnosed with DSM-IV OCD who had participated in family and genetic studies of OCD. Participants were assessed for Axis I disorders, personality disorders, and general personality dimensions. The Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI) was used to assess dimensions of perceived parental rearing (care, overprotection, and control). We compared parental PBI scores in the 334 hoarding and 560 non-hoarding participants, separately in men and women. We used logistic regression to evaluate the relationship between parenting scores and hoarding in women, adjusting for other clinical features associated with hoarding. RESULTS: In men, there were no significant differences between hoarding and non-hoarding groups in maternal or paternal parenting scores. In women, the hoarding group had a lower mean score on maternal care (23.4 vs. 25.7, p<0.01); a higher mean score on maternal protection (9.4 vs. 7.7, p<0.001); and a higher mean score on maternal control (7.0 vs. 6.2, p<0.05), compared to the non-hoarding group. The magnitude of the relationships between maternal bonding dimensions and hoarding in women did not change after adjustment for other clinical features. Women who reported low maternal care/high maternal protection had significantly greater odds of hoarding compared to women with high maternal care/low maternal protection (OR=2.54, 95% CI=1.60-4.02, p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Perceived poor maternal care, maternal overprotection, and maternal overcontrol are associated with hoarding in women with OCD. Parenting dimensions are not related to hoarding in men. These findings provide further support for a hoarding subtype of OCD and for sex-specific differences in etiologic pathways for hoarding in OCD.

ADHD and executive functioning deficits in OCD youths who hoard.

Hoarding is common among youth with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), with up to 26% of OCD youth exhibiting hoarding symptoms. Recent evidence from adult hoarding and OCD cohorts suggests that hoarding symptoms are associated with executive functioning deficits similar to those observed in subjects with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, while hoarding behavior often onsets during childhood, there is little information about executive function deficits and ADHD in affected children and adolescents. The study sample included 431 youths (ages 6-17 years) diagnosed with OCD who participated in the OCD Collaborative Genetics Study and the OCD Collaborative Genetics Association Study and completed a series of clinician-administered and parent report assessments, including diagnostic interviews and measures of executive functioning (Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Functioning; BRIEF) and hoarding severity (Hoarding Rating Scale-Interview; HRS-I). 113 youths (26%) had clinically significant levels of hoarding compulsions. Youths with and without hoarding differed significantly on most executive functioning subdomains and composite indices as measured by the parent-rated BRIEF. Groups did not differ in the frequency of full DSM-IV ADHD diagnoses; however, the hoarding group had significantly greater number of inattention and hyperactivity symptoms compared to the non-hoarding group. In multivariate models, we found that overall BRIEF scores were related to hoarding severity, adjusting for age, gender and ADHD symptoms. These findings suggest an association between hoarding and executive functioning deficits in youths with OCD, and assessing executive functioning may be important for investigating the etiology and treatment of children and adolescents with hoarding and OCD.

Social disinhibition is a heritable subphenotype of tics in Tourette syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: To identify heritable symptom-based subtypes of Tourette syndrome (TS). METHODS: Forty-nine motor and phonic tics were examined in 3,494 individuals (1,191 TS probands and 2,303 first-degree relatives). Item-level exploratory factor and latent class analyses (LCA) were used to identify tic-based subtypes. Heritabilities of the subtypes were estimated, and associations with clinical characteristics were examined. RESULTS: A 6-factor exploratory factor analysis model provided the best fit, which paralleled the somatotopic representation of the basal ganglia, distinguished simple from complex tics, and separated out socially disinhibited and compulsive tics. The 5-class LCA model best distinguished among the following groups: unaffected, simple tics, intermediate tics without social disinhibition, intermediate with social disinhibition, and high rates of all tic types. Across models, a phenotype characterized by high rates of social disinhibition emerged. This phenotype was associated with increased odds of comorbid psychiatric disorders, in particular, obsessive-compulsive disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, earlier age at TS onset, and increased tic severity. The heritability estimate for this phenotype based on the LCA was 0.53 (SE 0.08, p 1.7 × 10(-18)). CONCLUSIONS: Expanding on previous modeling approaches, a series of TS-related phenotypes, including one characterized by high rates of social disinhibition, were identified. These phenotypes were highly heritable and may reflect underlying biological networks more accurately than traditional diagnoses, thus potentially aiding future genetic, imaging, and treatment studies.

An integrated molecular landscape implicates the regulation of dendritic spine formation through insulin-related signalling in obsessive-compulsive disorder.

BACKGROUND: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a neuropsychiatric disorder with onset in childhood and is characterized by obsessions (recurrent, intrusive, persistent thoughts, impulses and/or ideas that often cause anxiety or distress) and compulsions (ritualized and stereotypic behaviours or mental acts that are often performed to relieve anxiety or distress associated with obsessions). Although OCD is a heritable disorder, its complex molecular etiology is poorly understood. METHODS: We combined enrichment analyses and an elaborate literature review of the top-ranked genes emerging from the 2 published genome-wide association studies of OCD and candidate genes implicated through other evidence in order to identify biological processes that, when dysregulated, increase the risk for OCD. RESULTS: The resulting molecular protein landscape was enriched for proteins involved in regulating postsynaptic dendritic spine formation - and hence synaptic plasticity - through insulin-dependent molecular signalling cascades. LIMITATIONS: This study is a first attempt to integrate molecuar information from different sources in order to identify biological mechanisms underlying OCD etiology. Our findings are constrained by the limited information from hypothesis-free studies and the incompleteness and existing limitations of the OCD literature and the gene function annotations of gene enrichment tools. As this study was solely based on in silico analyses, experimental validation of the provided hypotheses is warranted. CONCLUSION: Our work suggests a key role for insulin and insulin-related signalling in OCD etiology and - if confirmed by independent studies - could eventually pave the way for the development of novel OCD treatments.

Attention and Working Memory in Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Functional MRI Study.

The present study examined attention and memory load-dependent differences in the brain activation and deactivation patterns between adolescents with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and typically developing (TD) controls using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Attentional (0-back) and working memory (WM; 2-back) processing and load differences (0 vs. 2-back) were analysed. WM-related areas activated and default mode network deactivated normally in ASDs as a function of task load. ASDs performed the attentional 0-back task similarly to TD controls but showed increased deactivation in cerebellum and right temporal cortical areas and weaker activation in other cerebellar areas. Increasing task load resulted in multiple responses in ASDs compared to TD and in inadequate modulation of brain activity in right insula, primary somatosensory, motor and auditory cortices. The changes during attentional task may reflect compensatory mechanisms enabling normal behavioral performance. The inadequate memory load-dependent modulation of activity suggests diminished compensatory potential in ASD.

OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE PERSONALITY DISORDER: EVIDENCE FOR TWO DIMENSIONS.

BACKGROUND: To determine possible dimensions that underlie obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCPD) and to investigate their clinical correlates, familiality, and genetic linkage. METHODS: Participants were selected from 844 adults assessed with the Structured Instrument for the Diagnosis of DSM-IV Personality Disorders (SIDP) in the OCD Collaborative Genetics Study (OCGS) that targeted families with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) affected sibling pairs. We conducted an exploratory factor analysis, which included the eight SIDP-derived DSM-IV OCPD traits and the indecision trait from the DSM-III, assessed clinical correlates, and estimated sib-sib correlations to evaluate familiality of the factors. Using MERLIN and MINX, we performed genome-wide quantitative trait locus (QTL) linkage analysis to test for allele sharing among individuals. RESULTS: Two factors were identified: Factor 1: order/control (perfectionism, excessive devotion to work, overconscientiousness, reluctance to delegate, and rigidity); and Factor 2: hoarding/indecision (inability to discard and indecisiveness). Factor 1 score was associated with poor insight, whereas Factor 2 score was associated with task incompletion. A significant sib-sib correlation was found for Factor 2 (rICC = .354, P < .0001) but not Factor 1 (rICC = .129, P = .084). The linkage findings were different for the two factors. When Factor 2 was analyzed as a quantitative trait, a strong signal was detected on chromosome 10 at marker d10s1221: KAC LOD = 2.83, P = .0002; and marker d10s1225: KAC LOD = 1.35, P = .006. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate two factors of OCPD, order/control and hoarding/indecision. The hoarding/indecision factor is familial and shows modest linkage to a region on chromosome 10.

Trichotillomania and personality traits from the five-factor model

Objective: To examine whether personality traits have predictive validity for trichotillomania (TTM) diagnosis, pulling severity and control, and hair pulling style. Methods: In study 1, logistic regression was used with TTM cases (n=54) and controls (n=25) to determine if NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI) personality domains predicted TTM case vs. control classification. In study 2, hierarchical multiple regression was used with TTM cases (n=164) to determine whether NEO-FFI personality domains predicted hair pulling severity and control as well as focused and automatic pulling styles. Results: TTM case vs. control status was predicted by NEO-FFI neuroticism. Every 1-point increase in neuroticism scores resulted in a 10% greater chance of TTM diagnosis. Higher neuroticism, higher openness, and lower agreeableness were associated with greater pulling severity. Higher neuroticism was also associated with less control over hair pulling. Higher neuroticism and lower openness were associated with greater focused pulling. None of the personality domains predicted automatic hair pulling. Conclusions: Personality traits, especially neuroticism, can predict TTM diagnosis, hair pulling severity and control, and the focused style of pulling. None of the personality traits predicted automatic pulling. Longitudinal studies are needed to determine whether personality variables predispose to TTM onset, impact disorder course, and/or result from hair pulling behavior.

Trichotillomania and personality traits from the five-factor model.

OBJECTIVE: To examine whether personality traits have predictive validity for trichotillomania (TTM) diagnosis, pulling severity and control, and hair pulling style. METHODS: In study 1, logistic regression was used with TTM cases (n=54) and controls (n=25) to determine if NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI) personality domains predicted TTM case vs. control classification. In study 2, hierarchical multiple regression was used with TTM cases (n=164) to determine whether NEO-FFI personality domains predicted hair pulling severity and control as well as focused and automatic pulling styles. RESULTS: TTM case vs. control status was predicted by NEO-FFI neuroticism. Every 1-point increase in neuroticism scores resulted in a 10% greater chance of TTM diagnosis. Higher neuroticism, higher openness, and lower agreeableness were associated with greater pulling severity. Higher neuroticism was also associated with less control over hair pulling. Higher neuroticism and lower openness were associated with greater focused pulling. None of the personality domains predicted automatic hair pulling. CONCLUSIONS: Personality traits, especially neuroticism, can predict TTM diagnosis, hair pulling severity and control, and the focused style of pulling. None of the personality traits predicted automatic pulling. Longitudinal studies are needed to determine whether personality variables predispose to TTM onset, impact disorder course, and/or result from hair pulling behavior.

Web-based phenotyping for Tourette Syndrome: Reliability of common co-morbid diagnoses.

Collecting phenotypic data necessary for genetic analyses of neuropsychiatric disorders is time consuming and costly. Development of web-based phenotype assessments would greatly improve the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of genetic research. However, evaluating the reliability of this approach compared to standard, in-depth clinical interviews is essential. The current study replicates and extends a preliminary report on the utility of a web-based screen for Tourette Syndrome (TS) and common comorbid diagnoses (obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)). A subset of individuals who completed a web-based phenotyping assessment for a TS genetic study was invited to participate in semi-structured diagnostic clinical interviews. The data from these interviews were used to determine participants' diagnostic status for TS, OCD, and ADHD using best estimate procedures, which then served as the gold standard to compare diagnoses assigned using web-based screen data. The results show high rates of agreement for TS. Kappas for OCD and ADHD diagnoses were also high and together demonstrate the utility of this self-report data in comparison previous diagnoses from clinicians and dimensional assessment methods.

Replication study of the milwaukee inventory for subtypes of trichotillomania-adult version in a clinically characterized sample.

In the present study, we evaluated the Milwaukee Inventory for Subtypes of Trichotillomania-Adult Version (MIST-A) in a replication sample of clinically characterized hair pullers using exploratory factor analysis (EFA; N = 193). EFA eigenvalues and visual inspection of our scree plot revealed a two-factor solution. Factor structure coefficients and internal consistencies suggested a 13-item scale with an 8-item "Intention" scale and a 5-item "Emotion" scale. Both scales displayed good construct and discriminant validity. These findings indicate the need for a revised scale that provides a more refined assessment of pulling phenomenology that can facilitate future treatment advances.

COMT and MAO-A polymorphisms and obsessive-compulsive disorder: a family-based association study.

OBJECTIVE: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a common and debilitating psychiatric illness. Although a genetic component contributes to its etiology, no single gene or mechanism has been identified to the OCD susceptibility. The catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) and monoamine oxidase A (MAO-A) genes have been investigated in previous OCD studies, but the results are still unclear. More recently, Taylor (2013) in a comprehensive meta-analysis of genetic association studies has identified COMT and MAO-A polymorphisms involved with OCD. In an effort to clarify the role of these two genes in OCD vulnerability, a family-based association investigation was performed as an alternative strategy to the classical case-control design. METHODS: Transmission disequilibrium analyses were performed after genotyping 13 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (eight in COMT and five in MAO-A) in 783 OCD trios (probands and their parents). Four different OCD phenotypes (from narrow to broad OCD definitions) and a SNP x SNP epistasis were also analyzed. RESULTS: OCD, broad and narrow phenotypes,were not associated with any of the investigated COMT and MAO-A polymorphisms. In addition, the analyses of gene-gene interaction did not show significant epistatic influences on phenotype between COMT and MAO-A. CONCLUSIONS: The findings do not support an association between DSM-IV OCD and the variants of COMT or MAO-A. However, results from this study cannot exclude the contribution of these genes in the manifestation of OCD. The evaluation of broader spectrum phenotypes could help to understand the role of these and other genes in the pathophysiology of OCD and its spectrum disorders.