ArticleThe international journal of neuropsychopharmacology2020
Monoamine Oxidase A Hypomethylation in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Reversibility By Successful Psychotherapy?
Article in The international journal of neuropsychopharmacology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
21 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 46 citations in OpenAlex.
- Autoantibodies in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder: a systematic review.Translational psychiatry · 2023Pooled it
- Glucocorticoid receptor gene (Neurobiology of stress · 2026Article
- Changes in DNA Methylation Associated With Psychobehavioral Interventions: A Scoping Literature Review.Biological research for nursing · 2025Article
- Type A monoamine oxidase; its unique role in mood, behavior and neurodegeneration.Journal of neural transmission (Vienna, Austria : 1996) · 2025Review
- Unraveling Gender Differences in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: A Focus on Key Micronutrients.Cureus · 2025Article
- The Role of Epigenetics in the Pathogenesis and Potential Treatment of Obsessive-compulsive Disorder.Current neuropharmacology · 2025Review
- MAOA methylation is associated with impulsive and antisocial behaviour: dependence on allelic variation, family environment and diet.Journal of neural transmission (Vienna, Austria : 1996) · 2024Article
- Microbial Reprogramming in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders: A Review of Gut-Brain Communication and Emerging Evidence.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Review
- Epigenetic modifications and obsessive-compulsive disorder: what do we know?Brain structure & function · 2023Review
- Epigenetic modifications and obsessive-compulsive disorder: what do we know?Brain structure & function · 2023Review
- Genome-Environment Interactions and Psychiatric Disorders.Biomedicines · 2023Review
- Review
- Deep clinical phenotyping of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder: an approach towards detection of organic causes and first results.Translational psychiatry · 2023Article
- Effect of MAOA DNA Methylation on Human in Vivo Protein Expression Measured by [11C]harmine Positron Emission Tomography.The international journal of neuropsychopharmacology · 2023Article
- Can epigenetics shine a light on the biological pathways underlying major mental disorders?Psychological medicine · 2022Review
- Epigenome-wide DNA methylation in obsessive-compulsive disorder.Translational psychiatry · 2022Article
- Immunological causes of obsessive-compulsive disorder: is it time for the concept of an "autoimmune OCD" subtype?Translational psychiatry · 2022Review
- The Traumatizing Impact of Racism in Canadians of Colour.Current trauma reports · 2022Review
- Serotonin Transporter Gene Promoter Hypomethylation as a Predictor of Antidepressant Treatment Response in Major Depression: A Replication Study.The international journal of neuropsychopharmacology · 2021Observational
- Research on the Effects of Occupational Stress and theFrontiers in psychiatry · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundEpigenetic markers such as DNA methylation of the monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) gene have previously been shown to be altered in anxiety- and stress-related disorders and to constitute a potential mechanism of action of psychotherapeutic interventions such as cognitive behavioral therapy in these disorders. The present study for the first time, to our knowledge, investigated MAOA methylation in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder applying a longitudinal psychotherapy-epigenetic approach.
methodsThe present sample comprised 14 unmedicated female patients with primary obsessive-compulsive disorder and 14 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. MAOA promoter methylation was analyzed via direct sequencing of sodium bisulfite-treated DNA extracted from whole blood before and after an 8- to 10-week semi-standardized, obsessive-compulsive disorder-specific cognitive behavioral therapy. Clinical response was assessed by means of the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale.
resultsSignificantly lower MAOA promoter methylation was discerned in obsessive-compulsive disorder patients relative to healthy controls. Data were available for 12 patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder and 14 controls. Furthermore, following cognitive behavioral therapy, clinical improvement, i.e., decreases in obsessive-compulsive disorder symptoms as indicated by lower scores on the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale was found to be significantly correlated with increases in MAOA methylation levels in patients (data available for n = 7).
conclusionsThe present pilot data suggest MAOA hypomethylation as a potential risk marker of obsessive-compulsive disorder and an increase in MAOA methylation levels as a possible mechanistic correlate of response to cognitive behavioral therapy in obsessive-compulsive disorder.
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