Algorithm for the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to M A Jenike.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
This study used visual and auditory evoked potentials (VEP and AEP) to study low-level sensory processing in a group of 15 unmedicated subjects with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and 30 age-matched, gender-matched, and handedness-matched normal controls. EPs were recorded to flash (VEP) and binaural click (AEP) stimulation. OCD subjects were found to have significantly shorter latencies on N1 and P2 of the AEP, and no differences were found in the VEP. Results indicate abnormal information processing states in OCD during low-level auditory processing, but not during low-level visual processing. Neural generators of the VEP and AEP are briefly reviewed and results are discussed in relation to current neurobiological models of OCD.
BACKGROUND: The study was designed to determine the mediating neuroanatomy of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). METHODS: The short half-life tracer oxygen 15-labeled carbon dioxide was used to allow for repeated positron emission tomographic determinations of regional cerebral blood flow on each of eight patients with OCD during a resting and a provoked (symptomatic) state. RESULTS: Individually tailored provocative stimuli were successful in provoking OCD symptoms, in comparison with paired innocuous stimuli, as measured by self-report on OCD analogue scales (P = .002). Omnibus subtraction images demonstrated a statistically significant increase in relative regional cerebral blood flow during the OCD symptomatic state vs the resting state in right caudate nucleus (P < .006), left anterior cingulate cortex (P < .045), and bilateral orbitofrontal cortex (P < .008); increases in the left thalamus approached but did not reach statistical significance (P = .07). CONCLUSIONS: These findings are consistent with results of previous functional neuroimaging studies and contemporary neurocircuitry models of OCD. The data further implicate orbitofrontal cortex, caudate nucleus, and anterior cingulate cortex in the pathophysiology of OCD and in mediating OCD symptoms.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
OBJECTIVES: To determine the effectiveness of fluoxetine hydrochloride at fixed doses of 20 mg/d, 40 mg/d, and 60 mg/d in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and to evaluate its safety. METHODS: Fixed-dose fluoxetine hydrochloride (20 mg/d, 40 mg/d, 60 mg/d) was compared with placebo in two randomized, double-blind, parallel, 13-week trials of identical design in 355 outpatients with OCD aged 15 to 70 years (DSM-III-R criteria; 1 year's duration or longer; depression secondary if present). RESULTS: Fluoxetine (all doses) was significantly (P < or = .001) superior to placebo on the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) total score (mean baseline-to-end-point decrease, 4.6, 5.5, and 6.5 vs 0.9, respectively, studies pooled) and other efficacy measures (P < or = .01). A trend suggesting greater efficacy at 60 mg/d was observed. Most patients (79.2%) completed the study. Eight adverse events were statistically significantly more frequent with fluoxetine and one, with placebo. For some events, incidence tended to increase with increasing dosage; however, few patients discontinued treatment for any single event. CONCLUSION: Fluoxetine was associated with a statistically significant reduction in OCD severity, including time engaged in obsessional and/or compulsive behaviors. Adverse events infrequently led to study discontinuation.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
In this study, long-term outcome for patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder treated with serotonin reuptake inhibitor medications was examined. The records of 85 patients who had first been evaluated at least 1 year previously (the mean follow-up period was 773 days) were reviewed. Information was collected on age at onset of symptoms, time since first evaluation, and scores on several scales measuring symptom severity, including the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale. Comparison of these baseline data with Yale-Brown scale scores at the most recent follow-up visit showed that 74 (87%) of the patients had responded to treatment. No predictors of improvement were found.
Although the majority of patients with obsessive compulsive disorder can be helped significantly by modern pharmacotherapy, usually in combination with behavioral techniques of exposure and response prevention, some remain very ill and refractory to treatment. Although there are few controlled data to guide the clinician on how to manage these patients, substantial anecdotal evidence suggests ways to manage them. Pharmacologic, behavioral, and neurosurgical approaches are reviewed. While researchers are seeking more effective treatments and a clearer understanding of the pathophysiology of obsessive compulsive disorder, it is important for clinicians to optimally utilize the tools currently available.
Signal detection analysis was used to test three hypotheses for repetitive thoughts and behaviors characteristic of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Patients might have (a) low sensitivity for the difference between having seen something or having imagined seeing it, (b) a high criterion for this discrimination, or (c) difficulty associating context with information in memory. Subjects judged viewed words or imagined words and later indicated which were actually seen. Patients with OCD discriminated seen from imaged words significantly better than normal control subjects, as evidenced by higher d' scores on a recognition memory task. Groups did not differ in response criterion, beta, used to decide whether words had been seen or imaged. Implications for the study of OCD from an information-processing perspective are discussed.
BACKGROUND: Appetitive symptoms, particularly carbohydrate craving, have been shown to occur in patients whose conditions responded to treatment with drugs that enhance serotonin-mediated neurotransmission. This suggested that patients with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) who also frequently respond to serotonergic drugs also might have similar distributions of appetitive and eating patterns. METHOD: A survey study of 170 OCD patients and 920 controls was conducted using a questionnaire that inquired about snacking behavior, including food preference, mood changes after eating, and previous diagnosis of eating disorders. The frequency responses in the two groups were tested for statistical significance. RESULTS: Significant differences were found between the OCD and control groups with respect to the reported incidence of eating disorders, snacking patterns, and mood response to food. CONCLUSION: This finding of different snacking patterns in OCD mirrors that found in other disorders that have been shown to be responsive to serotonergic drugs. The high incidence of carbohydrate snacking among OCD patients compared with the control group provides additional evidence that brain serotonin may be involved in this disorder.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
There is overwhelming evidence that specific pharmacologic agents are effective in lessening symptoms of OCD in many patients. In addition, considerable evidence indicates that the behavioral techniques of exposure and response prevention are effective. Although complete cure occurs infrequently, the combination of both pharmacotherapy and behavioral treatment optimizes the individual patient's potential for recovery and the majority of patients can now expect to lead relatively normal lives, to work, and to function well in families and in social situations. There is no controlled, and almost no anecdotal evidence, to suggest that traditional psychodynamic psychotherapy or psychoanalysis are effective in treating the symptoms of OCD. However, wise clinicians frequently use psychotherapy as an adjunct to more specific treatments to help deal with other problems that the patient might have. Even though many patients became vigorously opposed to psychodynamic treatments and psychoanalysis after experiencing such treatments for years without any improvement in their obsessions and compulsions, they are now realizing that psychotherapy may have a place in the treatment plan for many patients who, after responding to medication and behavior therapy, need to explore the deeply rooted thought patterns that developed in response to obsessive-compulsive behaviors and to work to free themselves from these patterns. For example, it may no longer be adaptive for the patient to attempt to control others, or to set up a restricted or extremely regimented environment. Even trying to distinguish a "normal" thought or worry from an obsession may require the help of a therapist. There may well be a place for psychodynamic therapies for some patients (often with onset of OCD in childhood) who are left with developmental scars after their OCD is well-treated. Although controlled evidence is lacking, there may well be a role for neurosurgical procedures in the management of very severely-ill OCD patients who have failed to respond to more conventional treatments. With the development of new technologies, controlled trials may now be feasible.
We used the Structured Interview for DSM-III Personality Disorders to diagnose DSM-III personality disorders systematically in 55 patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder in the active-treatment cell of a controlled trial of clomipramine hydrochloride. Patients with a cluster A personality disorder had significantly higher obsessive-compulsive disorder severity scores at baseline, and the number of personality disorders was strongly related to baseline severity of obsessive-compulsive disorder symptoms. At the conclusion of the 12-week study, we found no significant difference in treatment outcome with clomipramine between those patients with at least one personality disorder and those with no personality disorders. However, the presence of schizotypal, borderline, and avoidant personality disorders, along with total number of personality disorders, did predict poorer treatment outcome. These variables were strongly related to having at least one cluster A personality disorder diagnosis, which was also a strong predictor of poorer outcome. Implications of these findings are discussed.
To clarify the relationship between dissociative symptoms and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), 100 patients with OCD were assessed with standardized instruments measuring symptoms of OCD, dissociation, and depression. Diagnoses of personality disorders and dissociative disorders were made using structured interviews. Compared with a previous study, OCD patients had dissociation scores slightly higher than normal controls and comparable to patients with other anxiety disorders. Patients with elevated dissociation scores had more severe OCD symptoms, were more depressed, and were more likely to have a personality disorder than patients with low dissociation scores. Although dissociative symptoms were frequently reported by OCD patients, symptoms of OCD may also mimic dissociation in some patients.
Seventeen patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder and concomitant personality disorders were treated with pharmacologic and/or behavioral therapy and reassessed after 4 months. Nine of the 10 patients who responded to treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder no longer met criteria for a personality disorder. Of the seven nonresponders, five continued to meet criteria for a personality disorder.
Standardized structured interview personality scales are now available that provide better reliability than clinician interview, but are still imperfect. These scales diagnose DSM III-R personality disorders, which are more illness-oriented than Freudian notions. Use of these scales has found that the majority of patients with OCD have at least one Axis II personality disorder, with most falling in cluster C. Obsessive compulsive personality disorder, as described in DSM-III-R, is, in most samples studied, present in the minority of patients with OCD, and is often less common than other personality disorders such as mixed, dependent, avoidant, and histrionic. The prevalence of this personality disorder as modified in DSM-III-R (making it easier for a patient to qualify for this personality disorder diagnosis) appears to be higher, although still present in a minority of patients with OCD. Obsessive compulsive personality disorder (along with the other cluster B and C personality disorders) has not been reported to have a consistent relation to treatment outcome. There is evidence that in some cases, obsessive compulsive personality disorder may be secondary to OCD. Swedo et al hypothesized that some children may develop compulsive personality traits as an adaptive mechanism to deal with OCD. This hypothesis is in accord with our finding that OCD often predates compulsive personality disorder and that mixed personality disorder may develop over time, possibly secondary to OCD. We found in our sample of 96 adult patients with OCD that the presence of mixed personality disorder was more likely with longer duration of OCD, suggesting that patients who do not have premorbid personality disorders may develop significant personality traits (especially avoidant, compulsive, and dependent), which may be related to behavioral and life-style changes that are secondary to OCD. This hypothesis is strengthened by our finding that patients with one of these personality disorders at baseline tended to no longer meet criteria for them following successful treatment of their OCD. It now appears that schizotypal personality disorder, which is thought to be related genetically to schizophrenia (e.g., in three male identical twin pairs concordant for OCD but discordant for schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, the nonpsychotic co-twins all had schizotypal personality disorder), is the only consistent personality disorder predictor of poorer outcome in OCD. These traits may help explain other proposed poor predictors of treatment outcome such as overvalued beliefs, poor compliance, and chaotic family situations.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Medications are currently available that have been well studied in adequately designed controlled trials that predictably help the majority of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) patients. This article reviews the considerable data on the use of these agents in patients with OCD. In addition, an approach to patients with resistant symptoms is presented.