Obsessive Compulsive Disorder & Down Syndrome Abstracts
Int J Eat Disord 23 (1): 107-9 (1998 Jan)
Anorexia nervosa, major depression, and obsessive-compulsive disorder in a Down's syndrome patient
Raitasuo S, Virtanen H, Raitasuo J
Special Welfare District of Southwest, Finland
OBJECTIVE: This paper reports a case of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), major depression, and anorexia nervosa in a Down's syndrome patient. RESULTS: Mental retardation and OCD narrowed the patient's available means to control over life. First he became depressed. Perhaps because of insufficient treatment of the depression or in the context of controlling his body and inner life, anorexia nervosa developed. DISCUSSION: His clinical presentation, diagnostics, and successful treatment of psychiatric disorders and anorexia nervosa are presented.
J Autism Dev Disord 25 (4): 453-8 (1995 Aug)
Brief report: obsessive-compulsive disorder in adults with Down's Syndrome
Prasher VP, Day S
University of Birmingham, Department of Psychiatry, Queen Elizabeth Psychiatric Hospital, Mindelsohn Way Edgbaston, England
For people with Down Syndrome (DS), Lund (1988) and Collacott, Cooper, and McGrother (1992) made no specific comments on the possible presentation of obsessive-compulive disorder (OCD) in their prevalence studies. Myers and Pueschel (1991) found 4 DS subjects (0.8%) with OCD in a sample of 497 individuals. O'Dwyer, Holmes, and Collacott (1992) reported two cases of OCD in individuals with DS; the first was a 19-year-old male with acute onset of checking and ordering items and the second was a 37-year-old female presenting with a 9-year history of washing and ordering. This study investigated demographic and phenomenological characteristics of OCD in nine adults with (DS), and possible effects on adaptive behavior. Results suggest OCD is more common in the DS population than the non-DS population. Ordering and tidiness was the most common form of OCD found, and ongoing treatment was rare.
J Nerv Ment Dis 180 (9): 603-4 (1992 Sep)
Two cases of obsessive-compulsive disorder in individuals with Down's syndrome
O'Dwyer J, Holmes J, Collacott RA
Department of Psychiatry, Halifax General Hospital, Salterhebble Halifax, N. Yorks, United Kingdom
While ritualistic behavior is common among mentally retarded individuals, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is rare. We report two people with Down's syndrome who presented symptoms suggestive of OCD. Neither case showed core autistic features. In each, the onset of the disorder was associated with disturbing life events. It is unclear whether those with Down's are vulnerable to OCD. However, they are particularly vulnerable to affective disorders. In addition, deficits in serotonin metabolism may be present (Tu and Zellweger, 1965), which may be of etiological significance.