A review about comorbidity between obsessive-compulsive symptoms and huntintong disease and a case report

Abstract

Introduction

The concept of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) as a disorder that affects the basal ganglia arising to the phenomenological similarities found between idiopathic OCD and other conditions associated with basal ganglia disease such as Huntington's disease (HD) and Sydenham's chorea. Huntintong's disease is characterized by cognitive, motor and neuropsychiatric symptoms.

Aims

A review of articles published from 1989 to 2016 in Pub-Med and UpToDate about relationship between HD and obsessive-compulsive symptoms.

Methods

Case report of a 56-year-old male who was admitted at the acute unit of psychiatry with obsessive-compulsive symptoms marked by hypochondriac obsessive thoughts. He also had cleaning rituals in relation with meals and we observed an important functional impairment and depressive mood. No previous history except family chorea without cognitive impairment in study by neurology department.

Results

Affective disorders are the most common psychiatric disorders in HD. Less frequently it can be found other psychiatric symptoms as obsessive-compulsive behaviour with prevalences between 10% to 52%. Psychiatric symptoms do not correlate with duration of disease or presence of dementia or motor symptoms.

Conclusions

It is necessary to complete the study of the patient to provide a more appropriate therapeutic option. The neurological signs of basal ganglia disorder should be evaluated when considering OCD diagnosis, especially in atypical presentation ages. Longitudinal studies are needed to determine the pathogenesis, disease progression and future therapeutic options.

Disclosure of interest

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.