MMP-9 and TIMP-1 Levels in Children and Adolescents with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

This study aimed to evaluate matrix metalloproteinase-9(MMP-9), tissue inhibitors of matrix metalloproteinases (TIMP-1) and the ratio of MMP-9/TIMP-1 in children and adolescents with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). Twenty-nine patients with OCD and twenty-nine healthy children, matched with the study group for age and gender, took part in the study. Children's Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale and the Maudsley Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory were used to evaluate the clinical severity of the OCD symptoms. The serum levels of MMP-9 and TIMP-1 were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits. In comparisons of the MMP-9 levels, TIMP-1 levels and MMP-9/TIMP-1 ratio between the two groups, no significant differences were detected. There was no relationship between OCD disease severity and MMP-9 levels, TIMP-1 levels and the MMP-9/TIMP-1 ratio. These findings suggest that neither MMP-9 or TIMP-1 is a suitable biomarker for OCD. However, to expand upon these findings, it would be helpful to replicate this study in a larger sample size.