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World J Psychiatr. Sep 19, 2021; 11(9): 568-580
Published online Sep 19, 2021. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v11.i9.568
Antiglutamatergic agents for obsessive-compulsive disorder: Where are we now and what are possible future prospects?
Annalisa Maraone, Lorenzo Tarsitani, Irene Pinucci, Massimo Pasquini
Annalisa Maraone, Lorenzo Tarsitani, Irene Pinucci, Massimo Pasquini, Department of Human Neurosciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome 00185, Lazio, Italy
Author contributions: Maraone A performed the majority of the writing, prepared the table; Tarsitani L and Pinucci I provided the input in writing the paper; Pasquini M designed the outline and coordinated the writing of the paper.
Conflict-of-interest statement: There is nothing to disclose.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Massimo Pasquini, MD, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Human Neurosciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Viale dell'Università 30, Rome 00185, Lazio, Italy. massimo.pasquini@uniroma1.it
Received: March 1, 2021
Peer-review started: March 1, 2021
First decision: July 15, 2021
Revised: July 25, 2021
Accepted: August 6, 2021
Article in press: August 6, 2021
Published online: September 19, 2021
Processing time: 197 Days and 23.8 Hours
Core Tip

Core Tip: In pathophysiology of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), dysfunction of the cortico-striatal-thalamo-cortical (CSTC) loop could provoke an imbalance between goal-directed system and habit learning system. Glutamate is the principal neurotransmitter implicated in the CSTC model of OCD. Glutammate dysregulation and neurotoxicity seem to be correlated, thus, an early intervention and a reduction of duration of untreated illness appear central in treatment of OCD, as well as the use of glutamate-modulating drugs that could help to interrupt damage from neurotoxicity.