Normalisation of immune cell imbalance after pharmacological treatments of patients suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder

Recent data have shown the presence of immunological alterations in adult patients suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The objective of this study was to examine the possible effects of 12 months of treatment with different serotonergic drugs, such as clomipramine and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) on peripheral immunological cells of 18 OCD patients. Both the absolute number and percent of CD4(+), CD8(+), CD3(+), CD19(+) and CD56(+) cells were measured in peripheral blood before and after treatment by means of a Facstar Flow Sorter apparatus. At baseline, all patients showed a significant increase of CD8(+) and decrease of CD4(+) lymphocytes when compared with a similar group of healthy control subjects; after the treatment, CD8(+) and CD4(+) cells, respectively, decreased and increased significantly, and the CD4(+)/CD8(+) ratio increased, when compared with baseline values, in parallel with the clinical improvement. These data suggest that the alterations of immune cells reported in patients with OCD at baseline may be reverted by treatment with SRIs and should be considered a state-dependent marker, perhaps related to a condition of stress.