Sinais neurologicos menores no transtorno obsessivo compulsivo de inicios precoce e tardio: Estudo piloto

We investigated the frequency of neurological soft signs in 'early' and 'late' onset obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) patients and their relationship with clinical and therapeutic characteristics. Twenty OCD patients, including ten early-onset (mean age of onset = 11.10 years) and ten late-onset OCD (mean age of onset = 41.70 years), were evaluated openly with Y-BOCS, CGI and a scale elaborated by the authors to investigate neurological soft signs. After the neurological evaluation, patients were treated with serotonin reuptake inhibitors for 10 weeks. We identified one or more neurological soft signs in 12 patients (60. 0%), six of whom with early onset OCD (n=10) and six of whom with late onset OCD (n=10). The most common neurological soft signs were speech disorders (36.4%) and impersistence of upper extremitties (21.1%). The finding of motor disorders significantly correlated with more severe compulsions (p=0.04). We did not find correlation between any soft signs and treatment response Neurological soft signs are a frequent find in OCD patients and do not seem to differ in terms of frequency between early and late onset OCD patients. The findings of motor disorders in OCD correlates with the greater severity of compulsions.