Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD): from childhood to adult life

Case Report

OCD usually occurs in adolescence or in early adult life. Co-morbidity with Tourette syndrome, major depression, panic disorder etc., is a common phenomenon. The clinical course in childhood onset of OCD is usually described as chronic and unremitting, although epidemiological studies suggest that spontaneous remissions occur in as many as one-third of patients (Karno and Golding 1990). The long term prognosis in childhood onset of OCD is unknown, as prospective follow up studies are rare. Epidemiological studies concerning adult patients with childhood onset of OCD, suggest that symptoms have remained almost stable throughout adolescence and adulthood, despite today's availability of improved psychological and pharmacological therapies. On our presentation we will describe a case concerning a male adolescent (16 y.o.) with OCD and borderline mental capacity, who is the only child in the family and lives with his mother and step-father (mother's third marriage). We will also discuss the diagnostic and therapeutic dilemmas of this case as well as our prediction about the outcome.