The catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene is considered as a candidate gene in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Specifically, the COMT low-activity M158 allele has been suggested to be associated with OCD. However, there is no study reporting that COMT activity is decreased in OCD patients and that the decrease is mediated by the V158M polymorphism. Therefore, the purpose of our study wa...

BACKGROUND The primary goal of this study was to examine the impact of pregnancy, childbirth, and menstruation on the onset of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and/or exacerbation of OCD symptoms. METHOD One hundred twenty-six women aged between 18 and 69 years attending a university-based OCD clinic who met DSM-IV criteria for OCD according to the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV ...

Background: Some patients with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) think or are convinced that their obsessive-compulsive beliefs are true. These patients have OCD with poor or absent insight, a clinical profile that poses a challenge to the clinician. The purpose of this study is to determine the range of insight, characterize the clinical profile of poor insight OCD and study the impact of po...

Abstract Background Identifying predictors of treatment outcome can guide selection and optimize use resources. In patients affected by obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), perfectionism has emerged as one possible predictor, with some data suggesting that cognitive-behavioral therapy outcomes are poorer for more perfectionistic patients. Findings so far inconsistent, however, research yet to b...

OBJECTIVE It is believed that biochemical alterations in different brain regions are involved in the pathophysiology of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in children and adolescents. The aim of this study was to explore possible metabolic variations between pediatric OCD cases and healthy controls in brain regions which were implicated in OCD pathophysiology. METHOD Children and adolescents...

BACKGROUND Specific cortico-striato-thalamic circuits are hypothesised to mediate the symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), but structural neuroimaging studies have been inconsistent. AIMS To conduct a meta-analysis of published and unpublished voxel-based morphometry studies in OCD. METHOD Twelve data-sets comprising 401 people with OCD and 376 healthy controls met inclusion cri...

OBJECTIVES To estimate the prevalence of obsessive-compulsive symptoms (OCS) and disorder (OCD) among adolescents and to describe OCD characteristics according to gender. METHODS Participants were selected by cluster sampling at seven high-schools in southern Brazil. In the first stage, 2,323 students were screened for OCS; in the second stage, adolescents scoring ≥ 21 on the OCI-R scale were...

Genetic factors have historically been thought of as important in the development of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). For the estimation of the relative importance of genetic and environmental factors, twin studies are an obvious approach. Twin studies of OCD have a long history, starting in 1929. In this review, over 70 years of twin research of OCD is presented, using four different appro...

BACKGROUND It is often suggested that, in general, co-morbid personality disorders are likely to interfere with CBT based treatment of Axis I disorders, given that personality disorders are regarded as dispositional and are therefore considered less amenable to change than axis I psychiatric disorders. AIMS The present study aimed to investigate the impact of co-occurring obsessive-compulsive...

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a distressing and often debilitating disorder characterized by obsessions, compulsions, or both that are time-consuming and cause impairment in social, occupational, or other areas of functioning. There are many published studies reporting higher risk of suicidality in OCD patients, as well as studies describing increased risk of suicidality in OCD patient...