Evaluation of the role of phosphodiesterase 7 and 10 in obsessivecompulsive disorders by positron emission tomography.

Patients suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) present symptoms as intrusive, unwanted and recurrent thought or images (obsessions) and or repetitive behaviors (compulsions).These symptoms and behaviors become excessive and disturb significantly daily activities and lead to a low quality of life and a high burden for the family of the patient. The use of serotonin reuptake inhibitor is the most efficient strategy of treatment for OCD but 40 to 60% are refractory to this kind of drugs. So there is a need to look for new therapeutic strategies. Phosphodiesterase (PDE) 7 and 10A inhibitors has been recently proposed as potential treatment in OCD. However none study has been perform to prove this hypothesis. In vivo imaging using Positron Emission Tomography (PET) is a powerful tool to monitor the stages of disease, to study human biology, to investigate in vivo the properties of new drugs in clinical trials. This technique is quantitative and very sensitive and it is a non invasive technique which is a major advantage in brain imaging. Radiotracers are investigated to image in vivo biological targets like a receptor, an enzyme or a tumor. The aim of this project is to use PET imaging to determine the role of PDE7 and PDE10A in OCD and also verify if PDE7 and PDE10A inhibitors could be used as treatment.

Keywords:TOMOGRAPHY

Disciplines:Organic chemistry

Project type:Collaboration project