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CASE REPORT article

Front. Psychiatry
Sec. Neurostimulation
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1473797

Case Report: Non-linear Evolution of Oxytocin informs YBOCS Changes Post-DBS of the Bed Nucleus of the Stria Terminalis for treatment resistant OCD

Provisionally accepted
Jean-Baptiste Belge Jean-Baptiste Belge 1,2*Vincent Geenen Vincent Geenen 2Anne-Laure Salado Anne-Laure Salado 1Bruno Kaschten Bruno Kaschten 1Didier Martin Didier Martin 1Gabrielle Scantamburlo Gabrielle Scantamburlo 1,2
  • 1 University Hospital of Liège, Liège, Liège, Belgium
  • 2 University of Liège, Liège, Liège, Belgium

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Introduction: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a challenging neuropsychiatric condition with a subset of patients remaining refractory to conventional treatments. Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) has shown promise for severe, treatment-resistant OCD. This case report examines the relationship between plasma oxytocin levels and OCD symptom severity following BNST-DBS.Methods: A 36-year-old patient with long-standing, treatment-resistant OCD underwent stereotactic implantation of DBS electrodes at the BNST. Postoperative assessments included OCD symptom severity using the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (YBOCS) and plasma oxytocin levels, measured at 12 time points over three years. Longitudinal and correlational analyses were performed using linear and polynomial regression models.Results: Non-linear trends in oxytocin levels were identified, with polynomial regression revealing a significant quadratic term, suggesting a parabolic trend. Strong positive correlations were found between changes in oxytocin levels and YBOCS total, obsession, and compulsion scores.The findings suggest a significant non-linear evolution of oxytocin levels and a positive correlation with OCD symptom changes following BNST-DBS. Oxytocin levels could serve as a biomarker for DBS efficacy if this finding is replicated in larger studies.

    Keywords: DBS (deep brain stimulation), OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder), Oxytocin, non-linear, Neuromodulation

    Received: 31 Jul 2024; Accepted: 09 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Belge, Geenen, Salado, Kaschten, Martin and Scantamburlo. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Jean-Baptiste Belge, University Hospital of Liège, Liège, 4020, Liège, Belgium

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