Researchers in Jacksonville are testing a potential new treatment for obsessive compulsive disorder or OCD and they’re asking patients to enroll in a study to test a drug.
Researchers here in jacksonville are testing a potential new treatment for potential new treatment for obsessive compulsive disorder obsessive compulsive disorder or ocd and they’re asking or ocd and they’re asking patients to enroll in a study patients to enroll in a study to test a new drug joining us to discuss the study joining us to discuss the study and help us
Really better and help us really better understand ocd is mike better who has the condition who has the condition and clinical psychologist doctor jeffrey romell a doctor jeffrey romell a jacksonville clinical research jacksonville clinical research good morning. thank you for good morning. thank you for being here to appreciated. being here to appreciated. doctor let
Me start with you if doctor let me start with you if i could could you explain to i could could you explain to our viewer. you know what ocd our viewer. you know what ocd because some people may feel because some people may feel like maybe they have the like maybe they have the condition but don’t realize condition but don’t realize it’s not necessarily what it is
See is a chronic psychiatric condition. >> and this really has 2 main >> and this really has 2 main parts to it on the one hand there’s the on the one hand there’s the obsessions and these are obsessions and these are recurrent an wanted distressing recurrent an wanted distressing thoughts. they can be about thoughts. they can be about things being clean
Unclean things >> you know. they’re like germs. orderliness things being undone and the starts kind of hunt, the person may be kind of hunt, the person may be all day for you know they interfere with their. relationships with their job with family life and then on the family life and then on the other side are the compulsions other side are the compulsions and
The compulsions are the and the compulsions are the behaviors that the person is behaviors that the person is kind of feels driven to perform kind of feels driven to perform because of the obsessions because of the obsessions and so that’s that you know and so that’s that you know like the hand washing or the like the hand washing or the checking the light switches
Are checking the light switches are checking the stove. and again checking the stove. and again it’s the degree of it i think it’s the degree of it i think we’re start to draw the line of we’re start to draw the line of you know like everybody double you know like everybody double checks or door at night maybe checks or door at night maybe before they go to bed,
But we’re starting to spend but we’re starting to spend maybe hours a day and has maybe hours a day and has prevented from going to work in prevented from going to work in this you know impacting this you know impacting relationships were start to kind of draw the line to ocd kind of draw the line to ocd and might be then the the and might be then the the signal then to
Yourself it’s signal then to yourself it’s time to speak to someone in time to speak to someone in maybe get some help me bring maybe get some help me bring mike into this conversation mike into this conversation then. >> you thank you because you’re >> you thank you because you’re here just share your story here just share your story about this disorder
Or this about this disorder or this condition. i should say how has it >> well so i in hindsight. my symptoms started showing up my symptoms started showing up and it was very little 3 or 4 and it was very little 3 or 4 years old but um i wasn’t years old but um i wasn’t diagnosed until i was in my diagnosed until i was in my late 30’s, 36 years old and i late
30’s, 36 years old and i was first misdiagnosed with bipolar disorder. which is not uncommon a lot of therapist think that that’s therapist think that that’s something else before they go something else before they go to ocd with it manifests as to ocd with it manifests as intrusive thoughts as doctor intrusive thoughts as doctor almost said, a lot of it skin picking
Up pick lot of it skin picking up pick up my nails out until they up my nails out until they bleed out to the inside of my bleed out to the inside of my lip, i don’t do a lot of the lip, i don’t do a lot of the like locked checking in making like locked checking in making sure the stove is off kind sure the stove is off kind of thing i do counting. um i do of thing i do
Counting. um i do a lot of will for example, one a lot of will for example, one of them dealing with of them dealing with at this moment i’ve lost a pair at this moment i’ve lost a pair of shoes and i don’t know where of shoes and i don’t know where they are i know i had him on they are i know i had him on last night and i were them in last night and i were them in
The house can’t find them, the house can’t find them, i’ve no idea where they are and i’ve no idea where they are and i’m thinking about that in the back of my mind and to deal with that i’m picking up my cuticles right picking up my cuticles right now because it’s like it, now because it’s like it, although it’s hurting me physically it calms way, >>
And so there’s this new treatment that’s available to treatment that’s available to talk to the doctor about the talk to the doctor about the clinical study in just a minute clinical study in just a minute but first >> have you had trouble finding >> have you had trouble finding treatment and what you what are treatment and what you what are your thoughts
On this. >> i think any treatments that that work for the individual that work for the individual and every individual is and every individual is different than any treatments different than any treatments that work are a good thing you that work are a good thing you know it even i’m you know, and know it even i’m you know, and i don’t like to do placebo
I don’t like to do placebo around because you know that’s around because you know that’s kind of a a term that people kind of a a term that people throw around his office to throw around his office to throw around the term ocd throw around the term ocd because it’s you know it’s because it’s you know it’s always a accurate. but if it works for the but if it
Works for the individual i applaud it, you individual i applaud it, you know i’ve taken things a trick know i’ve taken things a trick medications. i’ve done medications. i’ve done therapies that work for me that therapies that work for me that don’t work for someone with the don’t work for someone with the exact same type see that i have exact same type see that
I have and that works for them and and that works for them and then work for me, i applaud it then work for me, i applaud it so doctor tell us about the study. >> so basically i’m this is stay the targets a different stay the targets a different part of the brain that any kind part of the brain that any kind of current treatment that’s of current treatment that’s
Available. so far we’ve used traditional so far we’ve used traditional more into the present medications which like which medications which like which work toward serotonin and help work toward serotonin and help lots of people. gear decrease lots of people. gear decrease anxiety help their mood. anxiety help their mood. but what we found with teichner but what we found
With teichner neural imaging techniques is neural imaging techniques is that there’s this part of the that there’s this part of the brain. the gloom an urgent brain. the gloom an urgent systems and the glutamate systems and the glutamate and that’s what this medication and that’s what this medication targets what we found is people targets what we found is people who
Suffer from ocd have higher who suffer from ocd have higher levels of glutamate activity levels of glutamate activity and this medication reduced and this medication reduced works to reduce level and we works to reduce level and we seeing some video then of how seeing some video then of how it works within the brain i it works within the brain i assume that said what do you
Need from >> so right now you know we’re very excited about where things very excited about where things you know this could lead to you know this could lead to but we volunteers and the but we volunteers and the people who have ocd who people who have ocd who have traditional treatments and they feel like there’s still room for improvement or it’s not helping
Improvement or it’s not helping them as much as it could be or them as much as it could be or maybe not even at all maybe not even at all to come down to um you know get to come down to um you know get involved in clinical trials involved in clinical trials like but we haven’t seen us like but we haven’t seen us healthcare, sometimes when healthcare, sometimes when
People hear this they like or people hear this they like or you’re going to do all these you’re going to do all these probes in tests on may anything probes in tests on may anything you could say to allay their you could say to allay their concerns about that with this medication is with this medication is actually pretty far along this actually pretty far along this
Life and has gone to lots of life and has gone to lots of safety testing already by the time we get to it, we’re just interested in it does it lots of people have it does it lots of people have tried before it’s been. at tried before it’s been. at this point we’re looking at this point we’re looking at what we call africa c or does it work and so we’re or does
It work and so we’re excited about that thank you excited about that thank you both for being here really appreciate thank you for appreciate thank you for sharing your story know that it sharing your story know that it helps people who are watching helps people who are watching anyone interested in the study anyone interested in the study can visit ocd trial dot org.
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Transcribed from video
New hope for someone with obsessive compulsive disorder By News4JAX