Maintenance electroconvulsive therapy for comorbid pharmacotherapy-refractory obsessive-compulsive and schizoaffective disorder.

Full Abstract

OBJECTIVE: There is a high comorbidity of schizophrenia and obsessive-compulsory disorder (OCD) associated with more severe symptoms. Standard pharmacotherapy achieve symptom improvement in approximately 60% only. RESULTS: We report about a 48-old women treated for depression which developed successively psychotic symptoms (ideas of reference, psychotic worries), negative symptoms (blunted affect, impoverished thinking, difficulties in planning), and obsessive-compulsive symptoms (mainly repeating rituals, avoidance behaviour, collecting and hoarding). She did not respond to combined treatment with neuroleptics and high dose selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors. She acutely improved during a course of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and was maintained on outpatient ECTs fortnightly together with 12 mg sertindol and 45 mg mirtazapine for 42 weeks. CONCLUSION: Maintenance ECT is not an approved therapy in OCD but might be an option in pharmacotherapy refractory cases of comorbid OCD and schizophrenic/schizoaffective disorder.

Author information

Author/s: Hanisch, F (F); Friedemann, J (J); Piro, J (J); Gutmann, P (P);

Affiliation: Klinik und Poliklinik für Neurologie, Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, Ernst-Grube Str. 40, 06097 Halle/Saale, Germany. frank.hanisch(-atsign-)medizin.uni-halle.de

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Case Reports; Journal Article

Journal: European journal of medical research (Eur J Med Res), published in Germany. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2009-Aug; vol 14 (issue 8) : pp 367-8

Dates: Created 2009/08/11; Completed 2009/09/29;

PMID: 19666398, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 9/29/2009, IMS Date: )

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