The use of antibody D8/17 to identify B cells in adults with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Compared with healthy control subjects, individuals with childhood-onset obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) have been reported to have a higher percentage of B cells that react with the monoclonal antibody D8/17, a marker for rheumatic fever. This study sought to replicate these findings in adults with OCD. Double-blind analyses of blood samples from 29 consecutive adults with primary OCD and 26 healthy control subjects were conducted to determine the percentage of B cells identified by D8/17. Using a standard criterion of > or =12% labeled B cells to denote positivity, rates of D8/17 positive individuals did not significantly differ between the OCD (58.6%) and control (42.3%) groups. Early age of onset was not a predictor of D8/17 positivity in the OCD group. The percentage of B cells identified by the monoclonal antibody marker D8/17 did not distinguish adults with OCD from control subjects, nor did it distinguish a sub-group of adults with OCD who described pre-pubertal onset of their OCD symptoms.

Postinfectious and other forms of obsessive-compulsive disorder.

The search for subtypes of OCD has led to increased appreciation of the importance of distinguishing early (prepubertal) versus later on-set, and of tic-related versus non-tic related subtypes, as well as postinfectious forms of the disorder. How these apparent typologies relate to each other remains to be elucidated. Careful longitudinal clinical descriptive studies, as well as the ongoing application of genetic, neuroimaging, and immunologic techniques, promise to advance our understanding of how genotype and environmental factors interact to produce the diverse clinical forms of OCD and to point the way to more effective treatment.