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Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Blog

Related terms: Obsessive Compulsive Neurosis, OCD, OCPD, Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder

Blog (19)

Motherhood May Spur Obsessive-Compulsive Behavior in Some

Posted 5 Mar 2013 by Drugs.com

TUESDAY, March 5 – New mothers have a much higher rate of obsessive-compulsive symptoms than other people and these symptoms center on their baby's well-being, a new study indicates. For example, a new mother may constantly worry and check to see if her baby is still breathing; she may obsess about germs and whether she's properly sterilized the baby's bottles and then wash or rewash them; or she may be unduly concerned about injuring her baby, according to the study authors. The researchers surveyed hundreds of new mothers and found that 11 percent of them had significant obsessive-compulsive symptoms at two weeks and at six months after giving birth. The rate in the general population is 2 percent to 3 percent. These symptoms are usually temporary and could result from hormonal changes or may be an adaptive response to caring for a new baby, the researchers suggested. They found that ... Read more

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Scientists Pinpoint How Deep Brain Stimulation Eases OCD

Posted 25 Feb 2013 by Drugs.com

SUNDAY, Feb. 24 – Deep brain stimulation has helped people with severe obsessive-compulsive disorder, and new research begins to explain why. A Dutch study appearing in the Feb. 24 online issue of the journal Nature Neuroscience found the procedure essentially restored normal function in a part of the brain called the nucleus accumbens. The nucleus accumbens "is part of a greater brain network," explained study author Dr. Martijn Figee. "This network is involved in motivation and the processing of rewards, and its activity is disturbed in [obsessive-compulsive disorder], probably explaining why [patients] are stuck in pathological behaviors at the cost of healthy ones." So, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is essentially the result of faulty wiring in the brain. It's not so much a disorder of a specific part of the brain than it is a "disorder of neurocircuitry," explained Dr. Brian ... Read more

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Man's Best Friend Points the Way in Genetic Research

Posted 15 Aug 2012 by Drugs.com

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 15 – Dogs may soon become man's best friend on a level that goes far beyond companionship and loyalty. Researchers report that the canine genome, similar in many ways to the human one, is starting to shed light on a wide range of human diseases. What makes dogs particularly interesting to scientists is their breed structure – a type of artificial selection – which creates distinct and diverse lines of animals that range from the muscular German shepherd to the nervous Chihuahua, from the hard-working collie to the perpetually pampered poodle. According to a review article published Aug. 16 in the New England Journal of Medicine, the fact that most purebred dogs have descended from small, closely related parentage with large litters means recessive diseases are common among them. To those interested in genetics, that's exciting. It makes less common recessive diseases ... Read more

Genetic Studies Give Clues to Tourette Syndrome, OCD

Posted 14 Aug 2012 by Drugs.com

TUESDAY, Aug. 14 – Two new large-scale studies searching for the genetic links to a couple of relatively common psychiatric conditions show how difficult it can be to decipher the human genome's role in disease. The research, the first genome-wide studies looking at the potential association of particular genes with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and Tourette syndrome, was published in two reports in the Aug. 14 issue of Molecular Psychiatry. While the studies failed to identify particular genes responsible for either of these conditions, it contributed important new clues. "The studies suggest there are probably lots of different genes of small effect that play a role, or, perhaps, there is a rare single gene," said Dr. Francis McMahon, chief of the human genetics branch within the intramural research program at the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health. While the research did ... Read more

Related support groups: Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Tourette's Syndrome

Brain Scans of 'Hoarders' Show Unique Abnormalities

Posted 6 Aug 2012 by Drugs.com

MONDAY, Aug. 6 – People with "hoarding disorder" show abnormalities in brain scans that distinguish them from those who have other types of obsessive-compulsive disorders (OCD), new research shows. "We wanted to see whether the brain activity of people who hoard is different from that of people with OCD, and whether it is different from that of healthy people," explained study author David Tolin, director of the Anxiety Disorders Center and Center for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy within the Institute of Living in Hartford, Conn. "We also wanted to understand whether people who hoard show an abnormal brain response to decisions about whether to keep things or throw them away," he noted. "These findings further suggest that hoarding should be considered separate from OCD, and that it deserves recognition as a unique psychiatric disorder," Tolin said. "It also shows us that people who ... Read more

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Brain Surgery Might Ease Tough-to-Treat OCD

Posted 17 Apr 2012 by Drugs.com

TUESDAY, April 17 – Most people with obsessive-compulsive disorder manage their symptoms through talk therapy and medication. But for some, severe OCD can take over their lives. A few eventually turn to brain surgery, and a new study shows how they fared. The study included 63 adult patients who underwent "stereotactic anterior cingulotomy" at Massachusetts General Hospital from 1989 to 2010, with long-term data available for 59 of the cases. "Half these patients had a very significant improvement in their symptoms – more than 35 percent improvement in the OCD scale that we use," said Dr. Sameer Sheth, chief resident in the department of neurosurgery at the hospital. "These are patients who are completely refractory (unresponsive) to medical or behavioral therapy and have gone for years, if not decades, completely incapacitated," he added. Patients who responded "are often still ... Read more

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Atypical Antipsychotics Appear to Be Effective For Only Few Off-Label Uses

Posted 28 Sep 2011 by Drugs.com

CHICAGO—A review of previous studies suggests that even though atypical antipsychotic medications are commonly used for off-label conditions such as behavioral symptoms of dementia, anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive disorder, these medications are effective for only a few off-label conditions, and that the benefits and harms of these medications for these uses vary, according to an article in the September 28 issue of JAMA. "Atypical antipsychotic medications are approved for marketing and labeling by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treating schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and depression under drug-specific circumstances. The use of atypical antipsychotic medications is rapidly increasing in the United States, with 1 study estimating an increase from 6.2 million to 14.3 million treatment visits between 1995 and 2008. The estimated use of these drugs for off-label i ... Read more

Mixed Results Seen With 'Off-Label' Use of Antipsychotics

Posted 27 Sep 2011 by Drugs.com

TUESDAY, Sept. 27 – Even though off-label use of atypical antipsychotic drugs is common, a new review finds that such use is only effective in a few conditions and can be harmful in others. Also known as "second-generation" antipsychotics, these drugs are approved in the United States for treatment of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and depression. But off-label use – or use not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration – of these drugs to treat a number of other conditions is growing. Researchers analyzed findings from 393 clinical studies to gauge effectiveness and uncover harmful side effects when Risperdal, Zyprexa, Seroquel, Abilify, Geodon, Saphris, Fanapt and Invega were used outside of FDA-approved indications. Off-label use included treatment for behavioral symptoms in dementia, anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, eating disorders, post-traumatic ... Read more

Adding Psychotherapy to Meds Helps Kids With OCD

Posted 20 Sep 2011 by Drugs.com

TUESDAY, Sept. 20 – Adding cognitive behavioral therapy to medication seems to help children and teens with obsessive-compulsive disorder, new research shows. The findings, published in the Sept. 21 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, confirm previous research on cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). "[If] a child has been taking one of the [medications for OCD] and has a partial response, we can get a much better response when we add on CBT," said Lawrence Newman, a psychologist with Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, who was not involved with the study. Treatment with the class of antidepressants known as serotonin reuptake inhibitors is the mainstay of treatment for OCD, but relief isn't always complete. "There's plenty of evidence suggesting that medication works," said study author Martin E. Franklin, an associate ... Read more

When Protecting Baby Becomes an Obsession

Posted 8 Sep 2011 by Drugs.com

THURSDAY, Sept. 8 – Many new mothers feel a bit anxious about caring for their infant. But sometimes that concern develops into an obsession over all the things that can go wrong. Experts call that condition postpartum obsessive compulsive disorder. It can drive women to take extreme steps to prevent their fears from coming true, such as endlessly washing the infant to stave off germs to the point where the baby develops sores, or refusing to hold the baby out of fear of dropping him. Although postpartum depression gets far more attention, postpartum OCD can also be harmful to mother and child, said Kiara Timpano, an assistant psychology professor at University of Miami in Florida. "It's a very normal part of parenting to want to try to protect and keep your children safe," Timpano said. "What happens with OCD is that natural vigilance is turned up way too high. Not only do moms with ... Read more

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City Living Tied to More Anxiety, Mood Disorders

Posted 22 Jun 2011 by Drugs.com

WEDNESDAY, June 22 – People who are born and raised in cities have a greater lifetime risk for anxiety and mood disorders due to the impact that city living appears to have on two brain regions that regulate emotion and stress, a new international study indicates. The findings may lead to new ways to improve the quality of life for city dwellers, according to the researchers. Previous studies found that urban residents have a 21 percent increased risk for anxiety disorders and a 39 percent increased risk for mood disorders. They also have nearly twice the rate of schizophrenia compared to people who don't live in cities, said study co-author Jens Pruessner, of the Douglas Mental Health University Institute in Montreal. He and his colleagues in Germany used functional MRI to study the brain activity of healthy volunteers from urban and rural areas. They found that city dwellers had ... Read more

U.S. Sees Slowdown in Spending on Mental Health

Posted 5 Feb 2011 by Drugs.com

FRIDAY, Feb. 4 – The amount of money spent on psychiatric drugs in the United States continues to grow but at a much slower rate than in previous years, a new federal government study has found. From 2004 to 2005, spending on psychiatric drugs rose 5.6 percent, compared with an increase of 27.3 percent between 1999 and 2000, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The agency's analysis of health-care costs from 1986 to 2005, the latest year comparable data is available, also found that spending on behavioral health accounts for a decreasing portion of overall health-care costs. Of the $1.85 trillion spent on all health-care services in the United States in 2005, behavioral health spending accounted for 7.3 percent ($135 billion). During the 20 years analyzed in the study, spending for mental health and substance abuse health care grew more slowly ... Read more

For Many, Stigma of Mental Illness Lingers

Posted 24 Nov 2010 by Drugs.com

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 24 – Persistent efforts to reduce the stigma associated with mental illness haven't succeeded as well as hoped, suggesting that new strategies might be necessary. For decades, a number of organizations have been trying to persuade the public that mental illnesses such as depression, alcohol dependence and schizophrenia are neurobiological disorders, not just people behaving badly, hoping that harsh judgments would subside. Even drug ads unintentionally bolstered the view of the mentally ill as having "lifelong" or permanent problems, with their emphasis on science-focused explanations of the brain mechanisms behind some mental illness, claims a study appearing in the November issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry. This study compared people's responses to vignettes describing individuals with mental illness in surveys conducted a decade apart, in 1996 and 2006. ... Read more

Immune System Troubles Could Spark Behavior Woes

Posted 28 May 2010 by Drugs.com

THURSDAY, May 27 – In the first scientific illustration of exactly how some psychiatric illnesses might be linked to an immune system gone awry, researchers report they cured mice of an obsessive-compulsive condition known as "hair-pulling disorder" by tweaking the rodents' immune systems. Although scientists have noticed a link between the immune system and psychiatric illnesses, this is the first evidence of a cause-and-effect relationship, said the authors of a study appearing in the May 28 issue of the journal Cell. The "cure" in this case was a bone marrow transplant, which replaced a defective gene with a normal one. The excitement lies in the fact that this could open the way to new treatments for different mental disorders, although bone marrow transplants, which can be life-threatening in themselves, are not a likely candidate, at least not at this point. "There are some drugs ... Read more

Related support groups: Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Trichotillomania

Compulsive Dogs Yield Clues to Human OCD, Autism

Posted 19 Jan 2010 by Drugs.com

TUESDAY, Jan. 19 – A study of obsessive-compulsive Dobermans might someday help explain similar repetitive behaviors in humans. Scientists have identified a region on chromosome 7 in obsessive-compulsive dogs that may correlate to the human version of the psychiatric disorder. The gene is the same in humans, said Dr. Nicholas Dodman, first author of the study, which appears as a letter to the editor in the January issue of Nature Molecular Psychiatry. In humans it resides on chromosome 18, the same chromosome which holds all of the psychiatric genes identified thus far, he said. "It's certainly true we have basically the same gene in us, so it's an intriguing lead, but there's a lot more work that has to be done to see if this particular finding is relevant to human health and obsessive compulsive disorder [OCD]," added Dr. Michael Slifer, an assistant professor of human genetics and ... Read more

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