Medical director Andrew Gilbert and the Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Intensive Outpatient Program for Children and Adolescents of UPMC's Western Psychiatric Institute & Clinic have several research programs in progress.

"We're collecting data on patients who have volunteered for a research registry," Dr. Gilbert said. "With this data we're able to assess the effects of treatment from intake to discharge." The data will be presented at the annual conference of the Anxiety Disorder Association of America in March in New Mexico.

In a study funded by the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Gilbert and researchers are conducting functional magnetic resonance imaging scans of the brain while provoking OCD symptoms to see what the changes in the brain are like. "Kids with OCD appear to process their symptoms differently than adults with OCD," Dr. Gilbert said, "and this is likely due to developmental effects."

The center also is now recruiting patients for another NIH-funded study examining the brains of children who are at risk for OCD because at least one of their parents has the disorder. "We are trying to find possible brain markers that may predict risk for OCD," Dr. Gilbert said.

To learn more about the studies and/or to participate, call Catherine Kalas at 412-246-5794.