Mental health professionals have long debated the proper treatment approach to Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). An article published online in Modern Medicine (11/12/08) examines this issue.The article reports on a study recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The researchers studied eight patients with severe OCD. They treated “eight patients with severe, refractory obsessive-compulsive disorder with active stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus followed by sham stimulation. An additional eight patients were given the same treatments in reverse.” And the results? “The researchers found that three months of active stimulation was associated with significant improvement in the severity of obsessive-compulsive disorder…Function also significantly improved.” The researchers concluded that, "these preliminary findings suggest that stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus may reduce the symptoms of severe forms of obsessive-compulsive disorder but is associated with a substantial risk of serious adverse events.” The results of this study suggest that deep brain stimulation may help in severe OCD, although the results of this study need to be viewed with caution given the high risk of adverse events, and the fact that “several of the study authors have a financial relationship with Medtronic [the company that sells the brain stimulators].”
The Bottom Line: The results of this study suggest that deep brain stimulation may help in severe OCD, however there is a high risk of adverse events.
Reference: Article
Thirteen Great Books on OCD:
- Obsessive Compulsive Disorder by Bruce M. Hyman and Cherry Pedrick (Hardcover - Aug 3, 2003)
- Freeing Your Child from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: A Powerful, Practical Program for Parents of Children and Adolescents by Tamar E. Chansky (Paperback - Jul 10, 2001)
- Freedom from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder: A Personalized Recovery Program for Living with Uncertainty by Jonathan Grayson (Paperback - Sep 7, 2004)
- Overcoming Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (Overcoming) by David Veale and Robert Willson (Paperback - Dec 22, 2008) Helping Your Child With Ocd: A Workbook for Parents of Children With Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder by Lee, Ph.D. Fitzgibbons and Cherry Pedrick (Paperback - Oct 2003)
- Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders: A Complete Guide to Getting Well and Staying Well by Fred Penzel (Hardcover - Oct 19, 2000) Obsessive Compulsive Disorder: Practical Tried-and-Tested Strategies to Overcome OCD (Class Health) (Class Health) by Frederick Toates and Olga Coschug-Toates (Paperback - Oct 2002)
- Over and Over Again: Understanding Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (Paperback - Jul 29, 1997)
- Why Does Everything Have to Be Perfect? Understanding Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (The Dell Guides for Mental Health) by Lynn Shackman, Shelagh Masline, and Roger Granet (Mass Market Paperback - Aug 10, 1999)
- Helping Your Child With Ocd: A Workbook for Parents of Children With Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder by Lee, Ph.D. Fitzgibbons and Cherry Pedrick (Paperback - Oct 2003) Overcoming Obsessive Thoughts: How to Gain Control of Your OCD by Christine, Ph.D. Purdon and David A. Clark (Paperback - Oct 2005)
- The Sky Is Falling: Understanding and Coping With Phobias, Panic, and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders by Raeann Dumont (Paperback - April 1997)
- Overcoming Compulsive Hoarding: Why You Save & How You Can Stop (New Harbinger Self-Help Workbook) by Fugen Neziroglu, Jerome, Ph.D. Bubrick, Jose A. Yaryura-Tobias, and Patricia Perkins (Paperback - Jul 2004)
- Rewind, Replay, Repeat: A Memoir of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder by Jeff Bell (Paperback - Feb 1, 2007)
- Obsessive Compulsive Disorder by Naomi Fineberg, Donatella Marazziti, and Dan J. Stein (Paperback - Jan 15, 2001)
- Funny, You Don't Look Crazy: Life With Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder by Constance H. Foster (Paperback - Jan 1994)
Resource and Support Groups for OCD:
- Obsessive Compulsive Foundation
- Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Websites
- Support4hope
- Daily Strength Obsessive Compulsive Support Groups
- LinkedWords OCD Support Groups
- Medicare.com
- SkokieNet
- Yahoo OCD Support Groups
Additional Resources:
- For related articles on obsessive compulsive disorder disorders on the Web, click on: “Sphere: Related Content” located at the bottom of this blog post.
- For related books or blog posts with related content in Dr. Jeff’s and Dr. Tanya’s Blog, go to “Psychiatric Disorders: OCD” or type in the keyword “obsessive compulsive disorder” into “Google Search” located in the sidebar.
- For more books with related content, click any hyperlinked keyword in the blog or type in the keyword, “obsessive compulsive disorder” into “Amazon Search” on the Amazon banner located in the side bar.
Dr. Jeffrey Speller
Dr. Tanya Korkosz
Psychopharmacology Associates of New England
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