Search

Five refractory obsessive-compulsive patients were assessed using a neuropsychological battery after a modified gamma knife capsulotomy. The surgical technique was not associated with profound cognitive deficits. The authors found improvements in attention, vocabulary, learning, abstract reasoning, and memory.

Estudos prévios avaliando domínios neuropsicológicos, especialmente funções executivas, indicam a presença de déficits em portadores do Transtorno Obsessivo Compulsivo (TOC). No entanto, achados neste sentido são muitas vezes contraditórios. Estas divergências podem, em parte, ser explicadas a partir de limitações metodológicas como pareamento inadequado de pacientes e controles e o uso de medicamentos no momento da avaliação neuropsicológica. Este estudo teve os seguintes objetivos: 1) verificar o funcionamento neuropsicológico, especialmente das funções executivas, de pacientes portadores de TOC sem tratamento prévio comparados a controles normais; 2) identificar fatores neuropsicológicos preditivos de resposta a tratamento com terapia cognitivo-comportamental em grupo (TCCG) ou fluoxetina. Pacientes portadores de TOC (n=50) foram pareados com controles saudáveis (n=35) por gênero, idade, escolaridade, nível socioeconômico e lateralidade manual. Estes foram avaliados a partir de uma bateria neuropsicológica investigando: quociente intelectual, funções executivas, memória verbal e não verbal, habilidades sociais e funções motoras. Os pacientes portadores de TOC foram alocados em dois subgrupos: 26 foram submetidos a tratamento medicamentoso com fluoxetina e 24 foram submetidos a um protocolo de TCCG por 12 semanas. Encontramos déficits nos pacientes portadores de TOC quando comparados a controles saudáveis quanto à flexibilidade cognitiva (segundo teste de Hayling), funções motoras (pelo teste de Grooved pegboard) e habilidades sociais (pelo inventário de Del Prette). Algumas medidas neuropsicológicas foram preditivas de melhor resposta a ambos os tratamentos: maior número de respostas corretas no teste do California verbal learning test (CVLT) (Trials 1-5); maior rapidez na parte D 14 (Dots) do Victoria stroop test (VST); maior lentidão na parte W (Word) no VST e menor número de erros na parte C (Colors) do VST (principalmente à TCCG). Maior quociente intelectual (QI) verbal se associou com melhor resposta à TCCG. Menor número de respostas perseverativas no CVLT se associou com melhor resposta à TCCG e pior resposta à medicação. Concluindo, neste estudo portadores de TOC apresentaram déficits na flexibilidade mental, habilidades sociais e funções motoras. Medidas neuropsicológicas como QI verbal, memória verbal e controle inibitório foram preditivas de resposta ao tratamento. Padrões específicos das habilidades verbais e perserveração se associaram de forma diferenciada á resposta a TCCG ou à fluoxetina. Assim, a avaliação neuropsicológica, pode auxiliar não só na indicação do melhor tratamento, mas também alertar o clínico para aqueles pacientes com maiores chances de não resposta ao tratamento de primeira escolha, nos quais medidas adicionais devem ser associadas. Previous studies assessing neuropsychological domains, especially executive functions, indicate the presence of deficits in patients with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). However, findings in this sense are often contradictory. These discrepancies may partly be explained by methodological limitations such as inadequate matching of patients and controls and use of medication at the time of neuropsychological assessment. This study had two aims: 1) to assess the neuropsychological functioning, especially in executive functions in OCD patients without prior treatment compared with healthy controls and 2) to identify neuropsychological predictors of response to treatment with fluoxetine or cognitivebehavioral therapy in group (CBTG). Patients with OCD (n=50) were matched with healthy controls (n=35) by gender, age, education, socioeconomic status and handedness. Patients and controls were evaluated with a neuropsychological battery investigating: intellectual quotient (IQ), executive functions, motor functions, verbal memory and non-verbal, social skills and motor function. OCD patients were allocated into two subgroups: 24 were submitted to GCBT for 12 weeks and 26 underwent treatment with fluoxetine. We found deficits in OCD patients compared to healthy controls in cognitive flexibility (Hayling test), motor functions (Grooved pegboard test) and social skills (inventory of Del Prette). Some neuropsychological measures were predictive of a better response to both treatments: greater number of correct answers on the California verbal learning test (CVLT) (Trials 1-5); greater speed on board D (Dots) of the Victoria stroop test (VST); greater slowness on board W (Word) of VST and fewer errors on the board C (Colors) of VST (primarily in TCCG). Greater verbal IQ was associated with better response to CBTG. Fewer perseveration answers in the 17 CVLT was associated with better response to CBTG and worse response to fluoxetine. In conclusion, patients with OCD showed deficits in cognitive flexibility, social skills and motor functions compared to healthy controls. Neuropsychological measures such as verbal IQ, verbal memory and inhibitory control were predictive of treatment response. Specific patterns of verbal abilities and mental flexibility predicted different treatment response to GCBT or fluoxetine. Thus, neuropsychological assessment may provide important information for treatment choice in clinical settings and may alert clinicians to those patients that are most likely non-responders, in whom additional treatment modalities should be implemented.

Gamma ventral capsulotomy (GVC) radiosurgery is intended to minimize side effects while maintaining the efficacy of traditional thermocoagulation techniques for the treatment of refractory obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD). Neuropsychological outcomes are not clear based on previous studies and, therefore, we investigated the effects of GVC on cognitive and motor performance. A double-blind, randomized controlled trial (RCT) was conducted with 16 refractory OCD patients allocated to active treatment (n=8) and sham (n=8) groups. A comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation including intellectual functioning, attention, verbal and visuospatial learning and memory, visuospatial perception, inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility, and motor functioning was applied at baseline and one year after the procedure. Secondary analysis included all operated patients: eight from the active group, four from the sham group who were submitted to surgery after blind was broken, and five patients from a previous open pilot study (n=5), totaling 17 patients. In the RCT, visuospatial memory (VSM) performance significantly improved in the active group after GVC (p=0.008), and remained stable in the sham group. Considering all patients operated, there was no decline in cognitive or motor functioning after one year of follow-up. Our initial results after 1 year of follow-up suggests that GVC not only is a safe procedure in terms of neuropsychological functioning but in fact may actually improve certain neuropsychological domains, particularly VSM performance, in treatment refractory OCD patients.

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) Objective: To identify neuropsychological predictors of treatment response to cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and fluoxetine in treatment-naive adults with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).Method: Thirty-eight adult outpatients with OCD underwent neuropsychological assessment, including tasks of intellectual function, executive functioning and visual and verbal memory, before randomization to a 12-week clinical trial of either CBT or fluoxetine. Neuropsychological measures were used to identify predictors of treatment response in OCD.Results: Neuropsychological measures that predicted a better treatment response to either CBT or fluoxetine were higher verbal IQ (Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence) (p = 0.008); higher verbal memory on the California Verbal Learning Test (p = 0.710); shorter time to complete part D (Dots) (p

Nearly one-third of patients with obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) fail to respond to adequate therapeutic approaches such as serotonin reuptake inhibitors and/or cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). This study investigated structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) correlates as potential pre-treatment brain markers to predict treatment response in treatment-naive OCD patients randomized between trials of fluoxetine or CBT. Treatment-naive OCD patients underwent structural MRI scans before randomization to a 12-week clinical trial of either fluoxetine or group-based CBT. Voxel-based morphometry was used to identify correlations between pretreatment regional gray matter volume and changes in symptom severity on the Yale–Brown Obsessive–Compulsive Scale (Y–BOCS). Brain regional correlations of treatment response differed between treatment groups. Notably, symptom improvement in the fluoxetine treatment group (n=14) was significantly correlated with smaller pretreatment gray matter volume within the right middle lateral orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), whereas symptom improvement in the CBT treatment group (n=15) was significantly correlated with larger pretreatment gray matter volume within the right medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). No significant a priori regional correlations of treatment response were identified as common between the two treatment groups when considering the entire sample (n=29). These findings suggest that pretreatment gray matter volumes of distinct brain regions within the lateral OFC and mPFC were differentially correlated to treatment response to fluoxetine versus CBT in OCD patients. This study further implicates the mPFC in the fear/anxiety extinction process and stresses the importance of lateral portions of the OFC in mediating fluoxetine's effectiveness in OCD. Clinical registration information: http://clinicaltrials.gov-NCT00680602.

Serotonin reuptake inhibitors and cognitive-behavior therapy (CBT) are considered first-line treatments for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). However, little is known about their modulatory effects on regional brain morphology in OCD patients. We sought to document structural brain abnormalities in treatment-naive OCD patients and to determine the effects of pharmacological and cognitive-behavioral treatments on regional brain volumes. Treatment-naive patients with OCD (n=38) underwent structural magnetic resonance imaging scan before and after a 12-week randomized clinical trial with either fluoxetine or group CBT. Matched-healthy controls (n=36) were also scanned at baseline. Voxel-based morphometry was used to compare regional gray matter (GM) volumes of regions of interest (ROIs) placed in the orbitofrontal, anterior cingulate and temporolimbic cortices, striatum, and thalamus. Treatment-naive OCD patients presented smaller GM volume in the left putamen, bilateral medial orbitofrontal, and left anterior cingulate cortices than did controls (p

Objective: To investigate whether patients who develop obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) after posttraumatic stress disorder, i.e. post-traumatic OCD (PsT-OCD), display a distinctive neurocognitive pattern of dysfunction. Methods: Patients with PsT-OCD (n = 16), pre-traumatic OCD (PrT-OCD) (n = 18), non-traumatic OCD (NonT-OCD) (n = 67) and healthy controls (n = 17) had their performance compared on the following neuropsychological tests: the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, the Iowa Gambling Task, the Wechsler Memory Scale Logical Memory, the Brief Visual Memory Test – Revised, and the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale for Intelligence. Results: Patients with OCD, as a group, were characterized by poor set-shifting abilities and impaired verbal and visuospatial memories. Impaired set-shifting abilities were found to correlate with the severity of obsessive–compulsive symptoms in all groups of patients with OCD, with the exception of PsT-OCD. Only patients with PsT-OCD were characterized by impaired visuospatial recognition, which was found to correlate with poor set-shifting abilities in this particular group of patients, but not in individuals with other types of OCD or in healthy controls. Conclusions: Our study suggests that PsT-OCD is associated with a distinctive pattern of neurocognitive dysfunction, thus providing support for a different subtype of OCD.

OBJECTIVE: To describe a protocol that was based on an integrative neurobiological model of scientific investigation to better understand the pathophysiology of obsessive-compulsive disorder and to present the clinical and demographic characteristics of the sample. METHOD: A standardized research protocol that combines different methods of investigation (genetics, neuropsychology, morphometric magnetic resonance imaging and molecular neuroimaging of the dopamine transporter) obtained before and after treatment of drug-naïve adult obsessive-compulsive disorder patients submitted to a sequentially allocated 12-week clinical trial with a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (fluoxetine) and group cognitive-behavioral therapy. RESULTS: Fifty-two treatment-naïve obsessive-compulsive disorder patients entered the clinical trial (27 received fluoxetine and 25 received group cognitive-behavioral therapy). At baseline, 47 blood samples for genetic studies, 50 neuropsychological evaluations, 50 morphometrical magnetic resonance images and 48 TRODAT-1 single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) exams were obtained. After 12 weeks, 38 patients completed the protocol (fluoxetine = 20 and GCBT = 18). Thirty-eight neuropsychological evaluations, 31 morphometrical magnetic resonance images and 34 TRODAT-1 SPECT exams were obtained post-treatment. Forty-one healthy controls matched for age, gender, socioeconomic status, level of education and laterality were submitted to the same research procedures at baseline. CONCLUSION: The comprehensive treatment response protocol applied in this project allowing integration on genetic, neuropsychological, morphometrical and molecular imaging of the dopamine transporter data in drug-naïve patients has the potential to generate important original information on the neurobiology of obsessive-compulsive disorder, and at the same time be clinically meaningful. OBJETIVO: Descrever um protocolo integrativo de investigação neurobiológica para melhor compreender as bases patofisiológicas do transtorno obsessivo-compulsivo e apresentar as características clínicas e demográficas da amostra. MÉTODO: Protocolo padronizado que combina diferentes modalidades de investigação (genética, neuropsicologia, ressonância magnética cerebral e imagem molecular do transportador de dopamina) obtidas antes e depois do tratamento em pacientes com transtorno obsessivo-compulsivo nunca expostos à medicação submetidos a um ensaio clínico comparando um inibidor seletivo da recaptação de serotonina (fluoxetina) e terapia cognitivo-comportamental em grupo. RESULTADOS: Cinquenta e dois pacientes com transtorno obsessivo-compulsivo entraram no ensaio clínico (27 no grupo fluoxetina e 25 no grupo de terapia). No início, foram realizadas 47 coletas de sangue para genética, 50 avaliações neuropsicológicas, 50 ressonâncias magnéticas cerebrais e 48 exames de tomografia computadorizada por emissão de fóton único (SPECT) com TRODAT-1. Depois de 12 semanas, 38 pacientes terminaram o protocolo (20 no grupo de fluoxetina e 18 no grupo de terapia). Trinta e oito reavaliações neuropsicológicas, 31 ressonâncias magnéticas de crânio e 34 exames de SPECT foram obtidos após o tratamento. Quarenta e um controles pareados foram submetidos ao mesmo protocolo inicial. CONCLUSÃO: Os dados genéticos, neuropsicológicos, volumétricos e moleculares do transportador de dopamina aliados à resposta a tratamento podem tanto gerar informações importantes a respeito da neurobiologia do transtorno obsessivo-compulsivo quanto ter uma aplicação clínica.

To compare the performance of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) refractory to conventional treatments to healthy controls according to the Frontal Systems Behaviour Scale (FrSBe), comparing the scale scores within each group (Self or Family) and correlating FrSBe with Y-BOCS, DY-BOCS, tic disorder and age of first symptoms.Twenty OCD patients and 20 healthy controls were assessed using the FrSBe, a scale designed to evaluate frontal syndromes.The patients had higher scores when compared with the control group (p value.001) in terms of total score on the scale for both profile forms (Self and Family). In addition, there was a significant difference between the scores reported by the patients and their respective relatives. However, no correlation was observed between the scale and the other variables.The scale was able to clearly differentiate patients with OCD from healthy controls. This finding suggests that the FrSBe can be used not only in neurologic patients but also in psychiatric cases such as refractory OCD.

Importance Select cases of intractable obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) have undergone neurosurgical ablation for more than half a century. However, to our knowledge, there have been no randomized clinical trials of such procedures for the treatment of any psychiatric disorder. Objective To determine the efficacy and safety of a radiosurgery (gamma ventral capsulotomy [GVC]) for intractable OCD. Design, Setting, and Participants In a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial, 16 patients with intractable OCD were randomized to active (n = 8) or sham (n = 8) GVC. Blinding was maintained for 12 months. After unblinding, sham-group patients were offered active GVC. Interventions Patients randomized to active GVC had 2 distinct isocenters on each side irradiated at the ventral border of the anterior limb of the internal capsule. The patients randomized to sham GVC received simulated radiosurgery using the same equipment. Main Outcomes and Measures Scores on the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) and the Clinical Global Impression-Improvement (CGI-I) Scale at 1 year. Response was defined as a 35% or greater reduction in Y-BOCS severity and “improved” or “much improved” CGI-I ratings. Results Two of 8 patients randomized to active treatment responded at 12 months, and none of the 8 sham-GVC group patients responded (the absolute difference was not statistically significant: 0.25; 95% CI, −0.05 to 0.55; P = .11). At 12 months, median Y-BOCS scores were 23.5 in the active group vs 31 in the sham patients ( P = .01). The median Y-BOCS scores decreased 28.6% in the active treatment group and 5.8% in the sham group ( P = .04988). The median CGI-I scores were 3 and 4 in the active and sham treatment groups, respectively. At 54 months, 3 additional patients in the active group had become responders. Of the 4 sham-GVC patients who later received active GVC, 2 responded by post-GVC month 12. The most serious adverse event was an asymptomatic radiation-induced cyst in 1 patient. Conclusions and Relevance In this preliminary trial, patients with intractable OCD who underwent GVC may have benefitted more than those who underwent sham surgery although the difference did not reach statistical significance. Additional research is necessary to determine if GVC is better than deep-brain stimulation. Trial Registration clinicaltrials.gov Identifier:NCT01004302