Serum antibody for somatostatin-14 and prodynorphin 209–240 in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder, schizophrenia, Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis, and advanced HIV infection

Patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) demonstrated significant levels of antibody for somatostatin-28, its C-terminal fragment somatostatin-14, and prodynorphin. In contrast there were lower levels of reactivity for somatostatin-28 1–14 (the N-terminal fragment of somatostatin-28) and negligible reactivity for several other peptides including β-endorphin and corticotropin. Healthy volunteers and disease controls [schizophrenia, Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis, and subjects with advanced human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection] exhibited negligible reactivity. These data raise the consideration of an autoimmune mechanism for some OCD.