Symptom subtypes of obsessive-compulsive disorder: are they relevant for treatment?

Several symptom subtypes of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) have been identified on the basis of the predominant obsessions and compulsions. The objectives of the present article were to review the literature on the relationship between OCD symptom subtypes and treatment response and to suggest strategies that might assist with the choice of treatment and improve treatment outcome in patients with various subtypes. An extensive literature search was performed, relevant studies were identified, and their results reported. Overt compulsions were generally associated with a relatively good response to the behaviour therapy technique of exposure and response prevention (ERP) and with poorer response to serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SRIs). Washing/cleaning and checking compulsions tend to respond well to ERP, whereas the majority of studies show that washing/cleaning compulsions are associated with a poorer response to SRIs. Most studies suggest that patients with the symmetry, ordering and arranging subtype do not fare worse with ERP and SRIs than patients with other symptom subtypes. Some studies suggested that obsessions might respond to SRIs somewhat better than to ERP. In the majority of the studies, hoarding and the subtype characterized by sexual or religious obsessions and absence of overt compulsions ('pure obsessions') have been associated with poor response to ERP and SRIs. It was concluded that treatment strategies cannot be precisely tailored to OCD symptom subtypes. Many other factors influence the outcome of treatment and need to be considered along with the symptom subtypes when making decisions about treatment. While ERP and SRIs remain the mainstay of treatment regardless of the symptom subtype, the addition of cognitive therapy techniques and/or antipsychotic medications may enhance treatment response in the presence of certain features discussed in the article.     

Symptom dimensions in obsessive-compulsive disorder: prediction of cognitive-behavior therapy outcome

OBJECTIVE: A significant number of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) fail to benefit sufficiently from treatments. This study aimed to evaluate whether certain OCD symptom dimensions were associated with cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) outcome. METHOD: Symptoms of 104 CBT-treated in-patients with OCD were assessed with the clinician-rated Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale symptom checklist. Logistic regression analyses examined outcome predictors. RESULTS: The most frequent OCD symptoms were aggressive and contamination obsessions, and compulsive checking and cleaning. Patients with hoarding symptoms at baseline (n = 19) were significantly less likely to become treatment responders as compared to patients without these symptoms. Patients with sexual and religious obsessions tended to respond less frequently, although this failed to reach statistical significance (P = 0.07). Regression analyses revealed that higher scores on the hoarding dimension were predictive of non-response, even after controlling for possible confounding variables. CONCLUSION: Our results strongly indicate that in-patients with obsessive-compulsive hoarding respond poorly to CBT.     

Hoarding in obsessive-compulsive disorder: clinical and genetic correlates

OBJECTIVE: Hoarding may be an important symptom dimension in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Hoarding in OCD has been associated with poor insight, poorer response to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors than other OCD symptom dimensions, and a distinctive psychobiological profile. The clinical and genetic correlates of hoarding in OCD therefore deserve additional investigation. METHOD: Adult OCD patients (N = 315) underwent a comprehensive clinical assessment that included the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders (Patient Edition) and for Diagnosis of Obsessive-Compulsive Spectrum Disorders. DNA extracted from venous blood (10-30 mL) in a Caucasian subset of the interviewed OCD patients (N = 204) and Caucasian controls (N = 169), including patients (N = 94) and controls (N = 138) of Afrikaner descent, was genotyped to investigate polymorphisms in genes involved in monoamine function and previously hypothesized to be relevant to OCD. Data were collected from 1998 through 2004. RESULTS: OCD patients with hoarding made up 18.1% of the total sample. Compared with nonhoarding OCD, OCD with hoarding was associated with a number of comorbid Axis I disorders, obsessive-compulsive personality disorder, significantly higher OCD severity scores, and more functional impairment. In subjects of Afrikaner descent, the L/L genotype of the COMT Val158Met polymorphism was significantly more common in the OCD hoarding group, with a preponderance of low activity alleles, compared with nonhoarding patients and controls. CONCLUSIONS: These data are consistent with the hypothesis that hoarding represents a unique symptom subtype in OCD with a distinctive clinical and psychobiological profile. Further work is needed to determine the psychobiological mechanisms responsible for hoarding and to replicate the genetic findings noted here.     

Bipolar co-morbidity in pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder: clinical and treatment implications

This paper reports on implications of bipolar disorder (BD) co-morbidity in 120 children and adolescents with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) (84 males, 36 females, age 13.7 +/- 2.8 years), diagnosed using a clinical interview according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition (DSM-IV) criteria, and naturalistically followed-up for 12 +/- 6 months. The aim of this naturalistic, retrospective study was to explore the effect of BD co-morbidity, disentangling it from other co-occurring variables, namely the co-morbidity with disruptive behavior disorders. Forty three patients (35.8%) had a bipolar co-morbidity. Compared with OCD patients without BD, they had an earlier onset of OCD, a greater severity and functional impairment, more frequent hoarding obsessions and compulsions, and a poorer response to treatments. They had a higher co-morbidity with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and oppositional-defiant disorder (ODD), and a lower co-morbidity with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Finally, they received more mood stabilizers, and 30.2% of them did not receive serotonin-selective reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) because of pharmacological (hypo)mania. When all the OCD responders and nonresponders were compared, nonresponders (n = 42, 35%) were more severe at baseline and at end of the follow-up, had more frequently hoarding obsessions and compulsions, and had more frequent BD, ODD, and conduct disorder (CD) and less GAD and panic disorder. In the final regression model, hoarding obsessions and compulsions, co-morbidity with ODD, and CD were negative predictors of treatment outcome. This study suggests that even though bipolar co-morbidity is frequent and affects phenomenology and co-morbidity in pediatric OCD, its effect on treatment response seems prevalently accounted for by co-morbidity with disruptive behavior disorders. The significance of the hoarding subtype deserves further research on larger samples of pediatric patients.     

A review of the efficacy of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors in obsessive-compulsive disorder

BACKGROUND: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a chronic illness associated with substantial morbidity; it often requires long-term medication. The best-studied therapeutic agent in the treatment of this disorder is the tricyclic antidepressant clomipramine. Since other tricyclic antidepressants appear to lack efficacy in OCD, that of clomipramine has been linked to its potent effects on serotonin. Consequently, agents that selectively inhibit serotonin reuptake have been the focus of several large-scale, placebo-controlled studies of OCD. Their efficacy in OCD is the focus of our review. DATA SOURCES: MEDLINE search (1966 to present) of OCD treatment with clomipramine or SSRI antidepressant medication using the key words obsessive-compulsive disorder, serotonin reuptake inhibitors, clomipramine, and pharmacology. STUDY FINDINGS: The selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors fluoxetine, sertraline, fluvoxamine, and paroxetine have, in separate multicenter trials, demonstrated efficacy and tolerability in the treatment of OCD. In contrast, clomipramine, though efficacious, is often associated with substantial adverse events, particularly anticholinergic side effects. While 2 recent meta-analyses support the superior efficacy of clomipramine over selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors in the treatment of OCD, 5 of 6 head-to-head comparisons of either fluoxetine or fluvoxamine versus clomipramine have found similar efficacy but a lower incidence of side effects with the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor. A recently completed multicenter, 12-week, double-blind trial of paroxetine versus clomipramine versus placebo showed paroxetine to be as effective as clomipramine. With significantly fewer dropouts due to adverse effects than clomipramine, paroxetine was also associated with superior tolerability. CONCLUSION: The suggestion that selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors possess efficacy similar to that of clomipramine, but have a superior side effect profile, may have important implications for patients with OCD who require long-term treatment.     

Long-term follow-up and predictors of clinical outcome in obsessive-compulsive patients treated with serotonin reuptake inhibitors and behavioral therapy

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to examine the long-term course of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in patients treated with serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SRIs) and behavioral therapy and to identify predictors of clinical outcome. METHOD: Sixty outpatients meeting DSM-II-R or DSM-IV criteria for OCD were followed up for 1 to 5 years (mean = 2.5 years). All of them received prolonged pharmacologic therapy with an SRI. RESULTS: Thirty-seven patients (61.7%) completed an adequate behavioral treatment. At long-term assessment, 22 patients (36.7%) exhibited a global Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) score greater than 16 or a final reduction in Y-BOCS global score of less than 35% and were considered nonresponders. Patients who completed behavioral therapy showed a significant decrease in Y-BOCS compulsions subscale score (p = .01), whereas no significant differences in either Y-BOCS global or obsessions subscale scores between those who did and those who did not undergo behavioral therapy were detected. Obsessions of sexual/religious content were the unique factor related to a poorer long-term outcome. CONCLUSION: A substantial number of OCD patients showed persistent disabling symptoms at the long-term follow-up in spite of combined pharmacologic and behavioral treatment. Major benefits from behavioral therapy appeared to be the improvement of ritualistic behaviors. Sexual/religious obsessions predicted poorer long-term outcome, whereas short-term response to SRI treatment failed to achieve predictive value in the long-term course of OCD.     

Biological therapies for obsessive-compulsive disorder

Two treatments have demonstrated efficacy in OCD, exposure and response (ritual) prevention (EX/RP) and pharmacotherapy with serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SRIs). In this article, which is the third in a three-part series, the authors present an overview of the role of biological treatments for OCD. The evidence for the efficacy of the serotonin reuptake inhibitors (clomipramine and the five selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors "SSRIs" fluvoxamine, fluoxetine, paroxetine, sertraline, and citalopram) as monotherapy for OCD is reviewed. The authors also discuss the rationale for choosing among these agents for specific patients. Research on other types of medication monotherapies for OCD is also discussed. The authors then cover strategies for treatment-resistant OCD, including combining EX/RP and SRI medication treatment, combining clomipramine and an SSRI, use of augmenting medications, and use of intravenous clomipramine. Findings concerning the use of other somatic therapies for treatment-resistant OCD, including electroconvulsive therapy, neurosurgery, plasma exchange/IV immunoglobulin/maintenance antibiotics, and transcranial magnetic stimulation, are also reviewed. Finally, the authors discuss what is known about matching treatments to patients with certain specific symptom clusters, how long to continue maintenance medication treatment, and how to terminate treatment.     

A review of the researches focusing on the heterogeneity of obsessive-compulsive disorder and its potential subtypes]

Recently, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is often conceptualized as a heterogeneous disorder. To verify and more fully understand this OCD heterogeneity, more homogeneous and potentially valid phenotypic methods are needed. If OCD subtypes can be characterized using distinct features of psychobiology, then this would account for the variance in clinical and neurobiological studies on biological markers, and would potentially impact on treatment strategies for each patient. Most of the work on OCD subtypes has taken a categorical approach. For instance, it has been suggested that some forms of OCD are etiologically related to tic disorders, and OCD with comorbid tics has been characterized by specific phenomenological, genetic, and neuro-imaging features and a differential treatment response. There have been other attempts to subdivide OCD categorically based on predominant compulsions (e.g., cleaning or checking), age at onset (e.g., early-or late-onset), gender, impulsive features, comorbidity, or insight. The dimensional approach regards OCD as being composed of sets of obsessive-compulsive symptom dimensions. In recent studies, factor analyses have provided consistent evidence that distinct obsessive-compulsive symptom dimensions exist, including obsessions/ checking, contamination/washing, symmetry/ordering, and hoarding. It has been hypothesized that each symptom dimension may be underpinned by a distinctive set of bio-behavioral mechanisms. Indeed, neuroimaging studies have suggested particular neural correlates for different symptom dimensions, and some genetic and family studies are also consistent with such a hypothesis. Further, symptom dimensions may predict treatment responses; for example, a higher hoarding dimension level has consistently been associated with a poorer treatment response to selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors and cognitive-behavioral therapy. However, the dimensional structure of OCD symptoms is still not definitive, and the further standardization of methodological and analytic processes is also required. Thus, the relevance and limitations of each approach still remain to be discussed, and there is probably not one but several heuristic strategies that can be employed to identify more homogeneous OCD subtypes, which, when combined, may be, the most reasonable and useful method.     

Pharmacotherapy of obsessive-compulsive disorder

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a chronic and often incapacitating disorder that is frequently complicated by mood and additional anxiety diagnoses. Although appropriate pharmacotherapy is often of great benefit, full remission is rare. Separate multi-center, placebo-controlled trials of clomipramine, paroxetine, fluoxetine, sertraline and fluvoxamine, respectively, have established the unparalleled efficacy and safety of the serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SRIs) in the treatment of OCD. Direct comparisons of SRIs suggest similar efficacy, but reduced tolerability for clomipramine in comparison to fluoxetine, fluvoxamine, sertraline and paroxetine in patients with OCD. Although 60-80% of OCD patients will respond to SRI treatment, partial symptom reduction (mean improvement, 25-40% from baseline) remains the rule. Controlled trials of adjuvant lithium, buspirone, thyroid hormone or clonazepam added to ongoing SRI therapy have failed to demonstrate substantial further antiobsessive effects. The presence of comorbid conditions, specific OCD symptom content and various other clinical features have been investigated as potential predictors of medication response in patients with OCD, but consistent factors have not yet been identified. Clinical experience and preliminary data does suggest that a lack of response to one or more SRIs does not preclude response to another SRI. An overview of the pharmacotherapy of OCD, including first-line medication(s) and the comparative efficacy and pharmacological features of the different SRIs will be presented in this review, as well as potential strategies for OCD patients who fail to respond to conventional pharmacotherapeutic interventions.     

Serotonergic responsivity in obsessive-compulsive disorder. Effects of chronic clomipramine treatment

Clomipramine is a potent serotonin reuptake blocker that decreases the symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). To investigate whether clomipramine treatment in OCD affects brain serotonergic responsiveness, metachlorophenylpiperazine (mCPP), a selective serotonin agonist, and placebo were given under double-blind conditions to nine patients with OCD before and after treatment with clomipramine. Unlike our previous observations of a marked transient increase in obsessional symptoms and anxiety following 0.5 mg/kg of mCPP, readministration of mCPP after four months of treatment with clomipramine did not significantly increase obsessional symptoms and anxiety. Similarly, the hyperthermic effect of mCPP observed before treatment was eliminated after treatment with clomipramine. These findings are consistent with the development of adaptive subsensitivity to the serotonergic agonist mCPP during clomipramine treatment. A similar alteration in the response to endogenous serotonin may mediate clomipramine's antiobsessional effects.     

Reactivity of serotonin in whole blood: relationship with drug response in obsessive-compulsive disorder.

BACKGROUND: Obsessive-compulsive disorder responds almost only to potent serotonin reuptake inhibitors. Previous studies have suggested a relation between serotonergic function and clinical outcome in serotonin reuptake inhibitor treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder. METHODS: In a randomized, double-blind trial, comparing clomipramine, paroxetine, and a placebo in obsessive-compulsive disorder, serotonin levels in whole blood (WB-5-HT) were measured at baseline, after 1 week, and after 4 weeks of treatment and related to clinical outcome in 36 patients. RESULTS: In patients treated with serotonin reuptake inhibitors there was a pronounced decrease of WB-5-HT, variable after 1 week and uniformly maximal after 4 weeks. The decrease of WB-5-HT after 1 week of serotonin reuptake inhibitor treatment correlated negatively with clinical outcome after 12 weeks (r = -.61, p =.0006); hence, patients with slower WB-5-HT reactivity eventually responded better to treatment. Baseline WB-5-HT, but not WB-5-HT reactivity, was related to season. Depression, autistic traits, and previous serotonin reuptake inhibitor treatment predicted nonresponse. CONCLUSIONS: A fast decrease of WB-5-HT was associated with poor clinical outcome. This may be related to faster serotonin efflux from platelets, which has previously been linked to autism. Further studies are necessary to identify the underlying mechanism and discern whether serotonin reuptake inhibitor-induced WB-5-HT decrease is clinically useful.     

Citalopram intravenous infusion in resistant obsessive-compulsive disorder: an open trial

BACKGROUND: Treatment with intravenous clomipramine is rapidly effective in some obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) patients unresponsive to orally administered serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SRIs). The selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor citalopram is effective for OCD when administered orally. We investigated whether intravenous citalopram would rapidly benefit OCD patients unresponsive to orally administered SRIs. METHOD: Thirty-nine adult outpatients participated in a 3-week open-label trial of intravenous citalopram. Eligible patients had moderate-to-severe DSM-IV OCD of > or = 1 year's duration, a baseline Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (YBOCS) score > or = 25, and no other active Axis I diagnosis and had failed at least 2 adequate oral SRI trials, excluding citalopram. Intravenous citalopram was administered daily for 21 days, followed by oral citalopram until treatment day 84. Intravenous citalopram was started at 20 mg/day and was increased to 40 to 80 mg/day as tolerated. RESULTS: Intravenous citalopram was well tolerated even at higher doses (dropout rate = 2.6%). At day 21, 23 (59%) of the 39 patients had YBOCS score decreases of > or = 25%, of whom 4 had decreases of > or = 35%. Twenty-seven patients with YBOCS score decreases of > or = 20% were allowed to continue on treatment with oral citalopram, and by day 84, all had substantial further improvement. All 27 patients also showed significant improvement in several dimensions of quality of life. CONCLUSION: Intravenous citalopram was safe and rapidly effective in a group of treatment-resistant OCD patients. The early onset of response suggests a means of accelerating OCD symptom relief and predicting response to oral citalopram treatment. Double-blind, double-dummy, placebo-controlled trials of intravenous versus oral citalopram in patients with treatment-resistant OCD are indicated.     

The impact of symptom dimensions on outcome for exposure and ritual prevention therapy in obsessive-compulsive disorder

ObjectiveObsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a severe condition with varied symptom presentations. The behavioral treatment with the most empirical support is exposure and ritual prevention (EX/RP). This study examined the impact of symptom dimensions on EX/RP outcomes in OCD patients.MethodThe Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) was used to determine primary symptoms for each participant. An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) of 238 patients identified five dimensions: contamination/cleaning, doubts about harm/checking, hoarding, symmetry/ordering, and unacceptable/taboo thoughts (including religious/moral and somatic obsessions among others). A linear regression was conducted on those who had received EX/RP (n = 87) to examine whether scores on the five symptom dimensions predicted post-treatment Y-BOCS scores, accounting for pre-treatment Y-BOCS scores.ResultsThe average reduction in Y-BOCS score was 43.0%, however the regression indicated that unacceptable/taboo thoughts (β = .27, p = .02) and hoarding dimensions (β = .23, p = .04) were associated with significantly poorer EX/RP treatment outcomes. Specifically, patients endorsing religious/moral obsessions, somatic concerns, and hoarding obsessions showed significantly smaller reductions in Y-BOCS severity scores.ConclusionsEX/RP was effective for all symptom dimensions, however it was less effective for unacceptable/taboo thoughts and hoarding than for other dimensions. Clinical implications and directions for research are discussed.     

Clinical features of obsessive-compulsive disorder with hoarding symptoms: a multicenter study

BackgroundFactor analyses indicate that hoarding symptoms constitute a distinctive dimension of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), usually associated with higher severity and limited insight. The aim was to compare demographic and clinical features of OCD patients with and without hoarding symptoms.MethodA cross sectional study was conducted with 1001 DSM-IV OCD patients from the Brazilian Research Consortium of Obsessive-Compulsive Spectrum Disorders (CTOC), using several instruments. The presence and severity of hoarding symptoms were determined using the Dimensional Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale. Statistical univariate analyses comparing factors possibly associated with hoarding symptoms were conducted, followed by logistic regression to adjust the results for possible confounders.ResultsApproximately half of the sample (52.7%, n = 528) presented hoarding symptoms, but only four patients presented solely the hoarding dimension. Hoarding was the least severe dimension in the total sample (mean score: 3.89). The most common lifetime hoarding symptom was the obsessive thought of needing to collect and keep things for the future (44.0%, n = 440). After logistic regression, the following variables remained independently associated with hoarding symptoms: being older, living alone, earlier age of symptoms onset, insidious onset of obsessions, higher anxiety scores, poorer insight and higher frequency of the symmetry-ordering symptom dimension. Concerning comorbidities, major depressive, posttraumatic stress and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorders, compulsive buying and tic disorders remained associated with the hoarding dimension.ConclusionOCD hoarding patients are more likely to present certain clinical features, but further studies are needed to determine whether OCD patients with hoarding symptoms constitute an etiologically discrete subgroup.     

Olanzapine augmentation of serotonin uptake inhibitors in obsessive-compulsive disorder: an open study.

OBJECTIVE: This study evaluates the clinical response to olanzapine used in association with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) or clomipramine in treatment-resistant obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). METHODS: We describe the cases of 9 patients with serotonin uptake inhibitor-resistant OCD who were given an open-label adjunctive treatment of olanzapine for a minimum of 6 weeks. The response was assessed by using the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) and the Clinical Global Impression Scale (CGI). RESULTS: Six patients showed improvement of symptoms after the augmentation with olanzapine. One patient (treated with clomipramine) discontinued olanzapine due to side effects, and another 2 did not respond. CONCLUSION: Olanzapine augmentation of SSRIs in treating OCD showed a good (two-thirds) response rate, and it could therefore be considered as a treatment option when conventional therapies have failed.     

SSRIs治疗强迫症对照分析

目的：比较５羟色胺回收抑制剂（ＳＳＲＩｓ）与氯丙咪嗪对强迫症的临床疗效及副反应。方法：对３５例强迫症患者应用ＳＳＲＩｓ（１８例）与氯丙咪嗪（１７例）进行对照分析。采用Ｙａｌｅ－Ｂｒｏｗｎ强迫量表（Ｙ－ＢＯＣＳ）、汉密尔顿抑郁量表（ＨＡＭＤ）、副反应量表（ＴＥＳＳ）和临床疗效评定标准评定疗效及副反应。结果：ＳＳＲＩｓ与氯丙咪嗪疗效相似,两组显效率和有效率无显著差异。ＳＳＲＩｓ组副反应较氯丙咪嗪组少且     

Randomized, placebo-controlled trial of exposure and ritual prevention, clomipramine, and their combination in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the study was to test the relative and combined efficacy of clomipramine and exposure and ritual prevention in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in adults. Serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SRIs) and cognitive behavior therapy by exposure and ritual prevention are both established treatments for OCD, yet their relative and combined efficacy have not been demonstrated conclusively. METHOD: A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial comparing exposure and ritual prevention, clomipramine, their combination (exposure and ritual prevention plus clomipramine), and pill placebo was conducted at one center expert in pharmacotherapy, another with expertise in exposure and ritual prevention, and a third with expertise in both modalities. Participants were adult outpatients (N=122 entrants) with OCD. Interventions included intensive exposure and ritual prevention for 4 weeks, followed by eight weekly maintenance sessions, and/or clomipramine administered for 12 weeks, with a maximum dose of 250 mg/day. The main outcome measures were the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale total score and response rates determined by the Clinical Global Impression improvement scale. RESULTS: At week 12, the effects of all active treatments were superior to placebo. The effect of exposure and ritual prevention did not differ from that of exposure and ritual prevention plus clomipramine, and both were superior to clomipramine only. Treated and completer response rates were, respectively, 62% and 86% for exposure and ritual prevention, 42% and 48% for clomipramine, 70% and 79% for exposure and ritual prevention plus clomipramine, and 8% and 10% for placebo. CONCLUSIONS: Clomipramine, exposure and ritual prevention, and their combination are all efficacious treatments for OCD. Intensive exposure and ritual prevention may be superior to clomipramine and, by implication, to monotherapy with the other SRIs.     

Longitudinal assessment of symptom and subtype categories in obsessive-compulsive disorder

Although it has been postulated that symptom subtypes are potential predictors of treatment response, few data exist on the longitudinal course of symptom and subtype categories in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Putative subtypes of OCD have gradually gained more recognition, but as yet there is no generally accepted subtype discrimination. Subtypes, it has been suggested, could perhaps be discriminated based on autogenous versus reactive obsessions stemming from different cognitive processes. In this study, our aim was to assess whether symptom and subtype categories change over time. Using the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Symptom Checklist (Y-BOCS-SC), we assessed 109 patients who met DSM-IV criteria for OCD to establish baseline values, then reassessed 91 (83%) of the initial group after 36+/-8.2 months. Upon reassessment, we found significant changes from baseline within aggressive, contamination, religious, symmetry and miscellaneous obsessions and within checking, washing, repeating, counting and ordering compulsion categories. Sexual, hoarding, and somatic obsessions, and hoarding and miscellaneous compulsions, did not change significantly. In accordance with the relevant literature, we also assigned patients to one of three subtypes--autogenous, reactive, or mixed groups. Though some changes in subtype categories were found, no subtype shifts (e.g., autogenous to reactive or reactive to autogenous) were observed during the course of the study. Significantly more patients in the autogenous group did not meet OCD criteria at follow-up than did patients in the other groups. Our results suggest that the discrimination between these two types of obsession might be highly valid, because autogenous and reactive obsessions are quite different, both in the development and maintenance of their cognitive mechanisms, and in their outcome.     

Symptom structure in Japanese patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder

OBJECTIVE: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) comprises a number of specific symptom dimensions. The authors factor analyzed data on the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale symptom checklist in a large group of Japanese OCD patients to examine whether symptom dimensions were stable across cultures. METHOD: A principal components analysis of Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale major symptom categories was performed on Japanese OCD patients (N=343). The association between symptom dimensions and clinical variables, including 1-year outcome after combination treatment, was also examined using Pearson correlations. RESULTS: Four factors explaining 57.7% of the variance were identified: 1) contamination/washing, 2) hoarding, 3) symmetry/repeating and ordering, and 4) aggressive/checking symptoms. The symmetry dimension was associated with early age at onset, and both the symmetry and hoarding dimensions were associated with decreased functioning and treatment resistance. CONCLUSIONS: The findings in this study support transcultural stability in the symptom structure of OCD, which is consistent with the hypothesis that OCD is mediated by universal psychobiological mechanisms.     

Clinical features of children and adolescents with obsessive-compulsive disorder and hoarding symptoms

OBJECTIVE: This study was conducted to examine whether pediatric patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and hoarding symptoms differed in terms of clinical characteristics from pediatric OCD patients without hoarding symptoms. METHOD: Eighty children and adolescents with OCD (range, 7-17 years) completed clinician-administered and parent- and child-report measures of OCD symptom severity, impairment, and emotional and behavioral symptoms. RESULTS: Twenty-one youth endorsed significant hoarding symptoms. Relative to nonhoarders, youth with hoarding symptoms had worse insight, more magical thinking obsessions, and ordering/arranging compulsions than nonhoarders, higher levels of anxiety, aggression, somatic complaints, and overall externalizing and internalizing symptoms. Higher rates of panic disorder were found in youth with hoarding symptoms although other comorbidity rates did not differ. CONCLUSIONS: These findings in children are partially consistent with studies in adults, and suggest that pediatric patients with hoarding symptoms may exhibit a unique clinical presentation.