Topiramate augmentation in a patient with obsessive-compulsive disorder

Treatment-resistant OCD: Pharmacotherapies in adults

Serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SRI) medications are well established as first-line pharmacotherapeutic treatment for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). However, despite the excellent safety profile and demonstrated efficacy of these medications, a substantial proportion of individuals with OCD fail to attain sufficient benefit from SRIs. In this narrative review, we discuss clinical features of OCD that have been associated with poorer response to SRIs, and we present pharmacotherapeutic interventions that have been explored as augmenting or alternative treatments for treatment-resistant OCD. We additionally highlight non-SRI interventions for OCD that are currently under investigation. Pharmacotherapeutic interventions were identified via expert consensus. To assess the evidence base for individual pharmacotherapies, targeted searches for relevant English-language publications were performed on standard biomedical research databases, including MEDLINE. Information relevant to ongoing registered clinical trials in OCD was obtained by search of ClinicalTrials.gov. Pharmacotherapies are grouped for review in accordance with the general principles of Neuroscience-based Nomenclature (NbN). Clinical features of OCD that may suggest poorer response to SRI treatment include early age of onset, severity of illness, duration of untreated illness, and the presence of symmetry/ordering or hoarding-related symptoms. Based on evolving pathophysiologic models of OCD, diverse agents engaging serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, glutamate, and anti-inflammatory pathways have been explored as alternative or adjunctive therapies for treatment-resistant OCD and have at least preliminary evidence of efficacy. Medications with dopamine antagonist activity remain the most robustly evidence-based of augmenting interventions, yet dopamine antagonists benefit only a minority of those who try them and carry elevated risks of adverse effects. Interventions targeting glutamatergic and anti-inflammatory pathways are less well evidenced, but may offer more favorable benefit to risk profiles. Ongoing research should explore whether specific interventions may benefit individuals with particular features of treatment-resistant OCD.

Specialty knowledge and competency standards for pharmacotherapy for adult obsessive-compulsive disorder

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) affects approximately one person in 40 and causes substantial suffering. Evidence-based treatments can benefit many; however, optimal treatment can be difficult to access. Diagnosis is frequently delayed, and pharmacological and psychotherapeutic interventions often fail to follow evidence-based guidelines. To ameliorate this distressing situation, the International OCD Accreditation Task Force of the Canadian Institute for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders has developed knowledge and competency standards for specialized treatments for OCD through the lifespan. These are foundational to evidence-based practice and will form the basis for upcoming ATF development of certification/accreditation programs. Here, we present specialty standards for the pharmacological treatment of adult OCD. We emphasize the importance of integrating pharmacotherapy with clear diagnosis, appreciation of complicating factors, and evidence-based cognitive behavioral therapy. Clear evidence exists to inform first- and second-line pharmacological treatments. In disease refractory to these initial efforts, multiple strategies have been investigated, but the evidence is more equivocal. These standards summarize this limited evidence to give the specialist practitioner a solid basis on which to make difficult decisions in complex cases. It is hoped that further research will lead to development of a clear, multi-step treatment algorithm to support each step in clinical decision-making.

Clinical advances in obsessive-compulsive disorder: a position statement by the International College of Obsessive-Compulsive Spectrum Disorders

In this position statement, developed by The International College of Obsessive-Compulsive Spectrum Disorders, a group of international experts responds to recent developments in the evidence-based management of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The article presents those selected therapeutic advances judged to be of utmost relevance to the treatment of OCD, based on new and emerging evidence from clinical and translational science. Areas covered include refinement in the methods of clinical assessment, the importance of early intervention based on new staging models and the need to provide sustained well-being involving effective relapse prevention. The relative benefits of psychological, pharmacological and somatic treatments are reviewed and novel treatment strategies for difficult to treat OCD, including neurostimulation, as well as new areas for research such as problematic internet use, novel digital interventions, immunological therapies, pharmacogenetics and novel forms of psychotherapy are discussed.

Factors associated with obsessive-compulsive symptoms in people with epilepsy

PURPOSE

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a common but underrecognized psychiatric condition comorbid with epilepsy. We thus investigated clinical factors associated with obsessive-compulsive symptoms (OCS) in adults with epilepsy.

METHODS

This was a cross-sectional multicenter study in Republic of Korea. Obsessive-compulsive symptoms were assessed using the Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory-Revised (OCI-R). Clinical factors that were assessed included age, sex, seizure-related variables, and the number and use of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) prescribed. Data were analyzed by stepwise linear regression and adjusted according to anxiety and depressive symptoms as assessed by Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale (HADS).

RESULTS

The study population comprised 221 adults with epilepsy (42.1% male, 39.7 ± 11.9 years of age). The mean OCI-R score was 18.0 (standard deviation, 12.7), and an OCI-R score of ≥21 was obtained for 40.3% of the study sample. On a stepwise linear regression analysis, epilepsy severity, temporal lobe seizures, the use of topiramate, and the use of lamotrigine were identified as independent factors associated with OCI-R score after adjusting for anxiety according to the HADS. All factors except topiramate usage were positively associated with OCS. The total explained variance was 37.3%.

CONCLUSIONS

Obsessive-compulsive symptoms are common in persons with epilepsy and are associated with severe epilepsy, temporal lobe seizures, and the use of topiramate and lamotrigine. Specifically, the use of lamotrigine may aggravate OCS, whereas the use of topiramate may have beneficial effects on OCS.