Obsessive-compulsive and related disorders; a hidden epidemic
Article Abstract:
Obsessive compulsive patients are compelled to repeat actions repetitiously. For example, one patient claims that even though she knows it appears crazy, she is compelled to spend more than six hours a day washing her hands. Other patients have their normal thought patterns broken by intrusive thoughts that recur endlessly and persistently. This disorder can begin as early as two years of age, but on average its time of onset is 22. Once started, the obsessive-compulsive behavior persists if untreated, and may cause the patient to suffer lifelong disability that can result in the destruction of careers and even the break-down of families. The disorder affects as many as 2 to 3 percent (4 million Americans) of the population, and in spite of this high frequency it is often hidden from family members and physicians. Concealment is often possible as those suffering from this condition are able to fulfill their other work, social and family obligations. Physicians must be vigilant to the possibility of obsessive-compulsive disorders, particularly in light of a recent finding that as many as 37 percent of patients seen in a dermatology clinic with nonspecific dermatitis were suffering from the disorder. The disease may sometimes begin with brain injury which occurs by either trauma or inflammation of the brain (encephalitis). Although the condition does not usually respond to either conventional psychotherapy or antidepressant drugs, there are several new drugs that often bring relief. These agents affect the brain levels of serotonin (a normally occurring brain hormone) in specific locations of the brain (e.g., forebrain cortex, and basal ganglia). For individuals who are not helped by these new pharmaceuticals, several forms of surgery which are relatively low risk have been developed (internal capsulotomy, cingulotomy).
Publication Name: The New England Journal of Medicine
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0028-4793
Year: 1989
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Cognitive-behavior therapy, sertraline, and their combination for children and adolescents with obsessive-compulsive disorder
Article Abstract:
The efficacy of cognitive-behavior therapy (CBT) alone and medical management with the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor sertraline alone, or CBT and sertraline combined, as initial treatment for children and adolescents with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) are evaluated. It was concluded that children and adolescents with the combination of CBT plus a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor or CBT alone.
Publication Name: JAMA, The Journal of the American Medical Association
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0098-7484
Year: 2004
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