A drug used to treat tuberculosis could hold the key to treating children with obsessive compulsive disorder, a Gold Coast researcher has found.
 
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder which affects three to four per cent of children in Australia, is life-altering because people with the disease feel compelled to complete rituals like taking a certain route around the house, compulsively washing the hands or closing doors or windows repeatedly.
 
Dr Lara Farrell, a child psychologist specialising in anxiety, depression and OCD at Griffith University, said the current therapy treatment only helps roughly half the patients.
 
"This drug offers hope to the children who have severe OCD and have tried anti-depressants and therapy alone," she said.
 
"While children need to be on anti-depressant long-term to maintain their effects, we believe only five doses of the antibiotic will be needed.
 
"We believe that we can get the success rate of therapy up to 80 per cent of patients."
 
Dr Farrell said D-cycloserine is a common, safe antibiotic that has been used in Australia for over 50 years and was first observed in the US to help memory and cognitive function in Alzheimer's Disease patients.
 
She said the drug works by acting on the NMDA pathway in the brain, assisting patients to overcome their `fear' of the compulsion.
 
"It helps to fight fear," Dr Farrell said.
 
"We give the antibiotic about an hour before we start therapy sessions.
 
"When the child confronts what they fear most during therapy, like breaking one of their routines or touching something they are compelled not to touch, the drug helps them overcome that."
 
Dr Farrell's pilot study, funded by Australian Rotary Health, will involve children 8-17 years, who have severe OCD and for whom traditional therapy has not worked.

Brisbane Times