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Obsessive-compulsive disorders in Pick's disease
J M Tonkonogy1, T W Smith, P J Barreira
1Department of Psychiatry, University of Massachusetts Medical Center, Worcester 01655.
The Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences
|January 1, 1994
Summary
This study details a patient with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) who later died from Pick's disease. Neuropathology revealed significant caudate nucleus atrophy, suggesting a link between this brain region and OCD development.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Neuropathology
- Neuroimaging
Background:
- Presents a follow-up on a patient initially diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
- Details the progressive worsening of the patient's condition, culminating in death five years after disease onset.
Observation:
- Neuropathological examination confirmed Pick's disease, characterized by frontotemporal atrophy.
- Striking atrophy, neuronal loss, and gliosis were observed in the caudate nuclei, putamen, and globus pallidus.
Findings:
- Early-stage neuroimaging identified isolated caudate nucleus atrophy in the patient.
- OCD was the primary clinical manifestation during the early stages of the disease.
Implications:
- Discusses the potential role of caudate nucleus atrophy in the pathogenesis of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
- Highlights the significance of neuroimaging findings in diagnosing rare neurological conditions presenting with psychiatric symptoms.