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Drugs and psychological treatments for agoraphobia/panic and obsessive-compulsive disorders: a review.

In the short term, both antidepressants and exposure therapy usually improve agoraphobia/panic (AP) and obsessive-compulsive (OC) disorders and are accepted by most patients; psychological methods omitting exposure are not consistently helpful. Antidepressants have a broad-spectrum rather than specific anti-agoraphobia/panic or anti-obsessive-compulsive action. For long-term efficacy, there is good evidence for the value of exposure, but none for drugs. Because of relapse on ceasing drugs, and their side-effects, medication is less useful as the first line of treatment for chronic agoraphobia/panic or obsessive-compulsive disorder than is the lastingly helpful approach of exposure. Antidepressants are worth trying when patients refuse or fail with exposure therapy, or are dysphoric.

Agoraphobia↗

Marital adjustment and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Fifty obsessive-compulsives were treated by behavioural therapy (self-exposure in vivo and response prevention) either with their partner directly involved in all aspects of treatment or without their partner. The two treatment formats were equally effective. Although a substantial number of obsessive-compulsives were found to have marital problems, behavioural treatment directed at the obsessive-compulsive disorder resulted in improvement irrespective of marital quality and partner involvement in the therapy. The effects of treatment led neither to a deterioration of the marriage nor to adjustment problems in the partner.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

Clomipramine versus phenelzine in obsessive-compulsive disorder. A controlled clinical trial.

A double-blind clinical trial of clomipramine versus phenelzine was carried out on 30 patients suffering from DSM-III obsessive-compulsive disorder. The study period was 12 weeks, and the maximum doses used (from the fifth week on) were 225 mg/day for clomipramine (14 patients) and 75 mg/day for phenelzine (12 patients); four patients dropped out. Obsessive symptoms improved significantly in both drug groups, but there was no significant difference between groups. Depressive symptoms improved before obsessive ones.

Adult↗

Predictors of treatment outcome in the behavioural treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder.

BACKGROUND: An investigation to determine which prognostic variables are associated with behavioural treatment failure in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Empirically established prognostic variables measured at the start of treatment may lead to adjusted treatment programmes for these patients. METHOD: Forty patients, diagnosed with OCD, received a standardised treatment consisting of 18 sessions in vivo exposure and response prevention. Compulsive behaviour (MOCI) and obsessive fear (ADS) were the outcome measures. Prognostic variables included were initial severity of OC complaints, initial level of depression, problem duration, patients' motivation for treatment, quality of the therapeutic relationship, and marital dissatisfaction. RESULTS: Greater initial severity of complaints (P < 0.01), and depression (P = 0.03) predicted poorer outcome for compulsive behaviour. Greater initial severity of complaints (P < 0.01), and the conjoint variables higher level of depression, longer problem duration, poorer motivation for treatment, and dissatisfaction with the therapeutic relationship predicted poorer outcome for obsessive fear (P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The complaint-related variables of initial severity, initial depression, and problem duration, and the non-specific treatment variables of patients' motivation and quality of the therapeutic relationship, affect behavioural treatment outcome in OCD.

Adult↗

Obsessive-compulsive disorder. Familial-developmental history, symptomatology, comorbidity and course with special reference to gender-related differences.

BACKGROUND: Demographic data, family history, psychopathological features, comorbidity and course of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) are investigated and data generated to support the possible existence of two subgroups with gender-related differences of a broader nature. METHOD: Two hundred and sixty-three OCD patients, consecutive admissions to the Institute of Psychiatry, University of Pisa over a period of 5 years, not excluding those with comorbid Axis I and Axis II conditions, were studied. Patients were evaluated with a specifically designed semi-structured OCD interview. RESULTS: We found a significantly greater history of perinatal trauma in men who also had an earlier onset, greater likelihood of never having been married and a higher frequency of such symptoms as sexual, exactness and symmetry obsessions and odd rituals; by contrast, women suffered a later onset of the disorder, were more likely to be married, had higher rates of associated panic attacks after the onset of OCD and a higher frequency of aggressive obsessions at the onset of their illness, and were less frequently associated with bipolar disorders. CONCLUSIONS: Pathophysiological mechanisms in OCD seem to differ by gender. Perinatal trauma might predispose to earlier onset in men, whereas in women there is a close association between OCD and panic disorder.

Adult↗

Paroxetine versus clomipramine in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder. OCD Paroxetine Study Investigators.

BACKGROUND: The aim was to assess the effect of a flexible dose of paroxetine, compared with clomipramine and placebo, in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). METHOD: In a multinational randomised study, 406 subjects with OCD of at least six months duration received double-blind medication for up to 12 weeks. Doses were adjusted according to therapeutic effect and side-effects. Primary efficacy measures were the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale and the National Institute of Mental Health Obsessive-Compulsive Scale. Secondary efficacy measures were the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale, Symptom Check-List (90), Clinical Global Impression, and Patients Global Evaluation. RESULTS: Paroxetine was significantly more effective than placebo, and of comparable efficacy to clomipramine. Paroxetine had significantly superior tolerability to clomipramine on three measures: CGI efficacy index, anticholinergic adverse events, and adverse events leading to withdrawal. CONCLUSION: Paroxetine is as effective as clomipramine in the treatment of OCD. The comparable efficacy and better tolerability of paroxetine suggest that it would be an appropriate treatment for OCD.

Adolescent↗

Factor analytic study of the Children's Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale.

This study examined the psychometric properties of the Children's Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (CY-BOCS; Scahill et al., 1997). Participants were 82 children and adolescents diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Confirmatory factor analyses of 2 previously found models (Obsessions and Compulsions; Disturbance and Severity) yielded poor fit indexes. Exploratory factor analysis supported a model of severity and disturbance with slightly different item content than found by McKay et al. (2003). The internal consistency of the factors was acceptable, and the convergent and divergent validity was supported vis-a-vis correlations with clinician ratings of impairment, self-report measures of depression and anxiety, and parent ratings of Tourette's disorder (TD) symptoms. These findings suggest that the CY-BOCS Total Score may represent an inaccurate assessment of symptom severity and supports the use of the revised Severity and Disturbance factors in assessing illness severity.

Adolescent↗

Altered cortical excitability in obsessive-compulsive disorder.

OBJECTIVE: To assess cortical inhibitory and excitatory mechanisms in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). BACKGROUND: Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) studies have found decreased neuronal inhibition and a reduced cortical silent period in the primary motor area in Tourette's syndrome, focal dystonia, and other disorders believed to involve dysfunction of subcortical structures, including the basal ganglia. Dysfunction of the basal ganglia and linked regions also has been implicated in OCD, which has significant clinical and familial overlap with tic disorders. METHODS: We applied the TMS techniques previously used in Tourette's syndrome to a group of 16 OCD patients (seven unmedicated) and 11 age-matched healthy volunteers extensively screened for psychopathology. Measures of motor cortex excitability included resting and active motor threshold, cortical silent period duration, and intracortical inhibition and facilitation using a paired-pulse TMS technique with a subthreshold conditioning stimulus. RESULTS: Similar to recent findings in Tourette's syndrome and focal dystonia, this study reports significantly decreased intracortical inhibition (ICI) relative to the volunteers at interstimulus intervals from 2 to 5 msec. We also found decreased active and resting motor evoked potential threshold in the OCD patients, another indication of increased cortical excitability. Neither abnormality appeared medication related. The decreases in ICI and motor threshold were greatest in OCD patients with comorbid tics, but remained significant in patients without tics. CONCLUSIONS: The data suggest abnormal cortical excitability in obsessive-compulsive disorder. These findings are congruent with the hypothesis that Tourette's syndrome and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) are analogous disorders with overlapping dysfunction in corticobasal circuits. Patients with tic-related OCD may have more abnormal motor cortex excitability than OCD patients without tics.

Adolescent↗

Obsessive-compulsive beliefs and magical ideation in eating disorders.

OBJECTIVES: Similarities in patterns of cognition and behaviour between patients with eating disorders and those with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) have long been recognized, and comorbidity between these disorders has been shown to be high. However, there has been little investigation of the cognitive content shared between eating disorders and OCD. It has been suggested that a cognitive analysis of the overlap between the disorders may help to increase understanding of each, and have potentially useful clinical implications. The present study aimed to investigate the presence of obsessive-compulsive beliefs and magical ideation (MI) in a group of eating-disordered participants. METHOD: One hundred seventy-seven volunteers with a history of or current eating disorder completed the Obsessive Beliefs Questionnaire (OBQ), the Interpretation of Intrusions Inventory (IlI) and the Magical ideation scale (MIS). RESULTS: Eating-disordered participants demonstrated levels of the beliefs measured comparable to or higher than those with OCD. CONCLUSIONS: The results supported the hypothesis that the belief domains investigated are relevant to eating-disordered individuals. This has interesting theoretical and clinical implications. Further research will be required to elucidate the role of these types of cognitions in the relationship between eating disorders and OCD, and to clarify their role in the psychopathology of eating disorders.

Adolescent↗

Obsessive compulsive disorder in ultra-orthodox Jewish patients: a comparison of religious and non-religious symptoms.

Of 28 ultra-orthodox Jewish psychiatric referrals with obsessive compulsive disorder, 26 had religious symptoms, while 18 had non-religious symptoms. On average, each patient had three times more religious symptoms than non-religious symptoms. In only nine cases did the patients view their non-religious symptoms as the main difficulty, and all of these nine cases were ultra-orthodox from birth. There was no significant difference between the distress, resistance, sense of irrationality and hours spent daily of religious and non-religious symptoms. Further, there was no significant difference between the age of onset, age when felt to be a disturbance, and duration until help was sought. They were more likely to turn for help initially to a religious authority for a religious symptom and a mental health worker for a non-religious symptom. It may be concluded that the religious and non-religious symptoms of obsessive compulsive disorder in ultra-orthodox Jews are not experienced in markedly different ways by the sufferers. Two limitations to the study are the sample size, and the selection bias in that all had sought professional help, of itself likely to reflect their attitude to obsessive compulsive disorder.

Adolescent↗

Fluvoxamine: a selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitor for the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Fluvoxamine is the selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitor with the largest database in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder, a severe, and often chronic, anxiety disorder associated with substantial impairment in functioning. The selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors represent a first-line treatment in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder. These agents work primarily by blocking the re-uptake of serotonin into the presynaptic nerve terminal, which is believed to be mediated by their effects on the serotonin transport system. In the last two decades, the anti-obsessional effect of fluvoxamine has been tested in several double-blind, placebo-controlled and active-comparison studies, demonstrating its superior efficacy over obsessions and compulsions compared with non-serotonergic antidepressants (i.e., desipramine) and equal efficacy to clomipramine (a tricyclic antidepressant with potent serotonin re-uptake inhibition) and other selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (paroxetine and citalopram). However, compared with clomipramine, the selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitor fluvoxamine showed fewer side effects and better tolerability. This reflects the poor affinity of this compound for adrenergic, muscarinic, cholinergic or histaminergic receptors.

Fluvoxamine↗

Borderline personality and obsessive-compulsive symptoms.

Diagnostic criteria for borderline personality disorder (BPD) are diverse, covering a broad range of symptoms. One criterion, self-mutilation, is a behavioral excess that may be considered a predictor of other psychopathological states. The present study sought to determine the extent to which two groups of BPD patients, those who mutilate and those who do not, differed on measures of general psychopathology, depression, anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Results indicate that the only source of significant variation was the level of obsessive-compulsive symptoms, with mutilators exhibiting greater symptomatology. The findings from this study support the idea that self-mutilation is a more severe form of psychopathology relative to the rest of the BPD population. These results are interpreted based on the affect regulation model of self-mutilation, and contrasted with contemporary models of impulse control in relation to obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Adult↗

Prospective longitudinal study of children with tic disorders and/or obsessive-compulsive disorder: relationship of symptom exacerbations to newly acquired streptococcal infections.

BACKGROUND: It has been proposed that infection by group A beta-hemolytic streptococci (GABHS) can trigger acute symptom exacerbations among patients with Tourette's syndrome (TS) or obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), via autoimmune mechanisms. OBJECTIVE: To examine the temporal relationship between newly acquired GABHS infections (and other immunologic indices) and acute exacerbations of tics and obsessive-compulsive symptoms. METHODS: Pediatric patients (7-17 years of age) with TS and/or OCD (N = 47) and healthy control subjects (N = 19) were prospectively monitored for newly acquired GABHS infections, nonspecific markers of acute inflammatory responses, and D8/17-reactive cells (a marker of rheumatic fever). Objective monthly ratings of tic and obsessive-compulsive symptom severity were used to determine the timing of symptom exacerbations. RESULTS: The overall rate of acute exacerbations of neuropsychiatric symptoms was 0.56 exacerbations per patient per year. The average rate of new GABHS infections, using a stringent definition, was 0.42 infections per subject per year among patients, compared with 0.28 infections per subject per year for control subjects. The association between symptom exacerbations and new GABHS infections among patients was no greater than that expected on the basis of chance. At baseline, patients demonstrated significantly higher levels of D8/17-reactive cells and neopterin, compared with control subjects, but there was no consistent pattern of change when exacerbation time points were compared with baseline or follow-up time points. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest no clear relationship between new GABHS infections and symptom exacerbations in an unselected group of patients with TS and/or OCD.

Acute Disease↗

Serum cholesterol in patients with obsessive compulsive disorder during treatment with behavior therapy and SSRI or placebo.

OBJECTIVE: Patients with panic disorder are reported to have elevated cholesterol levels. There is also some evidence that cholesterol elevation is not so much a specific condition in panic disorder but is generally associated with anxiety. So far, there is little data on cholesterol levels in patients with obsessive compulsive disorders (OCD) which is also classified as anxiety disorder. METHOD: Thirty-three patients with OCD participated in the study. Serum cholesterol was measured as pretreatment and at the end of a ten-week treatment-period. All patients received behavior therapy and, in a double-blind fashion, fluvoxamine or placebo. Severity of OCD was assessed by the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS). RESULTS: Pretreatment cholesterol values of OCD patients were compared with cholesterol levels of thirty panic disorder patients and thirty normal controls. OCD patients had elevated cholesterol levels comparable with those of panic disorder patients. Cholesterol levels decreased significantly from pre- to posttreatment. OCD patients with high cholesterol levels (> or = 240 mg/dl, n = 7) could make best use of the treatment whereas patients with desirable cholesterol levels (< 200 mg/dl, n = 11) did not change their cholesterol during treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Our data support the assumption that not only panic disorder but also other anxiety disorders, e.g., obsessive compulsive disorders, may be associated with serum cholesterol elevations. Effective treatment (behavior therapy and/or treatment with a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor [SSRI]) seems to decrease cholesterol levels, especially in patients with pathological cholesterol elevations.

Adult↗

Obsessive-compulsive disorder following brain injury: a review.

OBJECTIVE: This article reviews obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) following acquired brain injury. OCD type symptomatology without any other cognitive, behavioral, or emotional problems following a brain injury appears to be rare. However, the first onset of obsessions and compulsions following a brain injury has been described, but cognitive impairments can potentially color the presentation. METHOD: This article reviews obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) after brain injury, including traumatic brain injury, cerebrovascular accidents, brain tumors and brain infections. Overlapping symtomatology between OCD and brain injury is discussed. RESULTS: Findings regarding the neuro-imaging of OCD after brain injury are reviewed and integrated with neuropsychological data from studies with idiopathic OCD. CONCLUSION: There appears to be some convergance between findings from studies of the neuropsychology of idiopathic OCD and neuro-imaging of OCD following brain injury.

Brain↗

[The neurobiological bases of obsessive-compulsive disorder and Tourette syndrome].

OBJECTIVE: To describe and discuss evidence-based articles on the neurobiology of obsessive-compulsive disorder and Tourette syndrome. SOURCES OF DATA: A review of the most relevant papers on the phenomenology, neuroanatomy, neuroimaging, genetic and immunological aspects of these two disorders was performed. SUMMARY OF THE FINDINGS: Ritualistic behaviors and repetitive thoughts have been extensively studied in the last years. The definitions of obsessive-compulsive disorder and Tourette syndrome emphasize the existence of a continuum of symptoms, with high prevalence in the general population. Neurobiological findings have implicated genetic and immunological factors in the etiology of these two disorders. CONCLUSIONS: Advances in neuroscience triggered genetic and immunological research studies, allowing new perspectives on the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder and Tourette syndrome patients.

Diagnosis, Differential↗

Convergent and discriminant validity of the Arabic Obsessive-Compulsive Scale for Kuwaiti and American college students.

In two samples of 87 Kuwaiti and 73 American undergraduates, scores on the Arabic Obsessive-Compulsive Scale correlated .71 and .63 with those on another obsession scale, respectively, while they correlated .49 and .19 with scores on a depression scale. The differences between these correlations in the two samples indicated good convergent and discriminant validity of the Arabic Obsessive-Compulsive Scale in both cultures.

Adult↗

Fusion or confusion in obsessive compulsive disorder.

Inferential confusion occurs when a person mistakes an imagined possibility for a real probability and might account for some types of thought-action and other fusions reported in obsessive-compulsive disorder. Inferential confusion could account for the ego-dystonic nature of obsessions and their recurrent nature, since the person acts "as if" an imagined aversive inference is probable and tries unsuccessfully to modify this imaginary probability in reality. The clinical implications of the inferential confusion model focus primarily on the role of the imagination in obsessive-compulsive disorder rather than on cognitive beliefs.

Cognition↗