PENTAGASTRIN HAS PANIC INDUCING PROPERTIES IN OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDER

The effects of the CCKB-receptor agonist pentagastrin, a synthetic ana logue of the cholecystokinin tetrapeptide (CCK-4), were studied in sev en patients suffering from obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and sev en healthy controls. All subjects were challenged with an IV dose of 0 .6 mu g/kg pentagastrin or placebo under double blind placebo controll ed conditions, on two separate occasions, with a minimum interval of 1 week. Six (86%) out of seven OCD patients experienced a panic-like re action after pentagastrin administration, against only two (29%) in th e control group. These differences failed to reach statistical signifi cance, probably due to the small sample size. No increases were observ ed in obsessions or compulsive behaviors as assessed with the Yale-Bro wn Obsessive Compulsive Challenge Scale, neither in the pentagastrin, nor in the placebo condition. These findings suggest that pentagastrin has panic-inducing properties in OCD patients, without affecting the core symptoms. The panic-inducing properties of pentagastrin are not s pecific for panic disorder patients, which might be indicative of a co mmon neurobiological dysfunction in panic disorder and OCD at the leve l of CCK-B receptors.