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DEFINITION
FACTS
CAUSES
SYMPTOMS
rTMS AND OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE DISORDER
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DEFINITION
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a medical brain condition that causes errors in information processing. It is characterized by excessive, recurrent and repetitive worries, doubts and superstitious beliefs.
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FACTS
- 1 in 50 adults currently has OCD
- 1 in 25 will have OCD at some point in their lifetime
- OCD afflicts about 3.3 million adult Americans
- Depression or other anxiety disorders may accompany OCD
- It strikes men and women in approximately equal numbers,
first appearing in childhood, adolescence, or early adulthood
- One-third of adults with OCD report having experienced their first symptoms as children.
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CAUSES
- Abnormal functioning of brain circuitry, involving a part of the brain called the striatum.
- OCD is NOT caused by family problems or attitudes.
- Brain imaging studies, using a technique called positron emission tomography (PET), found that brain activity
in an OCD sufferer differs from that found in people with
other mental illnesses or no illness at all.
- PET scans show that in patients with OCD both behavioral therapy and medication produce changes in the striatum.
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SYMPTOMS
- Symptoms may come and go, they may ease over time, or they can grow progressively worse
- Plagued, persistent thoughts or images
- Urgent, unwanted urge to engage in certain rituals
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rTMS AND OCD
- Neuroimaging studies on OCD patients indicate hyperactivity in a circuit involving orbitofrontal cortex and basal ganglia.
- 10-20 slow frequency right SMA rTMS has been proven statistically significant reduction in OCD symptoms which were stable at 3 months post treatment
- Treatment for OCD is conducted on an experimental basis (a cost reduction is offered per session).
- Please contact MCC staff members directly to obtain further details.
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Search journal articles on Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
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