Obsessive-compulsive and related disorders Flashcards
What is OCD?
Obsessions or compulsions or both
Obsessions:
recurrent and persistent thoughts, urges, or images
experienced as intrusive and unwanted
cause anxiety
Compulsions:
repetitive behaviours or mental acts
in response to an obsession or according to rules that must be applied rigidly
prevent events or relieve distress
Epidemiology of OCD
2-3 % of population
Females slightly >males, males earlier
Onset late adolescence/young adulthood
Why is it important to know the epidemiology
Common
Debilitating & high socioeconomic cost
Delayed help-seeking
Pathogenesis of OCD
Genetics
25-50% in twin studies
Neurobiology
CSTC ‘loops’: impaired control of inhibition
Serotonin: SSRI’s improve symptoms
Dopamine: Iatrogenic (methylphenidate,cocaine)
What is CSTC loops? And how does each component in the pathway work? How is it related to OCD?
Cortico-Striatal-Thalamo-Cortical Circuit
Cortex = GM on outer brain
- A decision-making hub
- Frontal lobe - responsible for error detection, working memory, goal-directed behaviour - sends signal through the striatum
Striatum = GM deep within WM
- Initiates & co-ordinates motor actions
- Either passes the signal on from the frontal lobe on or acts as a break and inhibits it
Thalamus
- Filters stimuli, a processing “relay station”
- In part controls subconscious movements, receives signal from the striatum and sends it back to the frontal lobe.
- If signal is too loud, it can disrupt activity
OCD shows overactivity of CSTC loops
hyperactivity in frontal cortex & basal ganglia
One theory: compulsive behaviours a person experiences are caused by misfiring in one or more neural circuits within the loop.
Diagnosis of OCD
First step is to ask Patient and their family How? Screening with Z-FOCS takes <60s If identified, then a detailed enquiry Why? Longer untreated OCD is associated with poorer treatment outcomes
List the questions asked in Z-FOCS
Do you wash/clean a lot?
Do you check things a lot?
Is there any thought that keeps bothering you that you would like to get rid of but can’t?
Do your daily activities take a long time to finish?
Are you concerned about orderliness or symmetry?
List possible co-morbidities in OCD
Anxiety (76%) also eating disorders/alcohol MDD (66%) Tic disorders (up to 30%) Children – ADHD/ASD Suicide Risk
Definition of obsession and/or compulsion in DSM - 5
Obsessions: recurrent and persistent thoughts/urges/images experienced as intrusive/unwanted & cause anxiety/distress
Compulsions: repetitive behaviours/mental acts that feel driven to perform in response to obsession or according to rules that must be applied rigidly. The acts aim to reduce anxiety/distress, but are not realistic/are too excessive. Wasting of time (>1hour/day)/↓functioning/distress
DSM 5 symptom clusters
Obessesion
- contamination concerns,
- harm to self/others, sexual/religious concers,
- symmetry, precision concerns
- Completeness concerns/inability to discard
Compulsions:
- Washing, bathing, showering
- Checking, praying, asking for reassurance
- Arranging, ordering
- Collecting/hoarding
Pharmacological management of OCD
SSRI (e.g. Fluoxetine/Citalopram)
- Consider availability/SE’s/interactions
- General: higher doses & longer durations than MDD
Specialist Level:
Another SSRI OR Clomipramine (TCA)
Augment with antipsychotic
Non-pharmacological management of OCD
CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy)
ERP (Exposure & Response Prevention)
Non-pharmacological management of OCD
CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy)
ERP (Exposure & Response Prevention)
Other management that could be added to OCD
Transcranial magnetic stimulation
Neurosurgical interruption of CSTC
Deep Brain Stimulation
List OCD related disorders
Body dysmorphic disorder Hoarding disorder Trichotillomania (hair-pulling) Excoriation (skin-picking) “Other”: due to substance/medication or AMC or un/specified