Dopamine and Obsessive Disorder: a Clinical Study with Cck and Methyl Phenidate

There is compelling evidence to implicate dopamine in the etiology of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). Administration of amphetamine (Ellinwood, 1967) phenmetrazine and L dopa produces obsessive symptoms. Furthermore, a recent study indicated in Tourette's syndrome patients, fluvoxamine worsened tics, coprolalia and OCD but the addition of pimozide improved both OCD and tics (McDougle et al., 1990). Patients with tic spectrum disorder and premorbid schizoid personality responded to this drug. Pimozide alone improved tics and not OCD (Delgado et al., 1990). These findings indicate that a hyperdopaminergic state as well as serotonin mechanism may play a role in the pathogenesis in OCD.