Beyond refractory obsessions and anxiety states: toward remission.
At the Sixth International Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Conference (IOCDC), held November 13-15, 2003, in Lanzarote, Spain, 2 issues were discussed that are of great importance to future research on obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The first of these is the possible inclusion of obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders (OCSD) in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. OCSD resemble OCD in their clinical symptoms, associated features, comorbidity, family/genetics, etiology, and neurocircuitry, as well as their selective response to treatment with serotonin reuptake inhibitors. The second issue is considering remission as the ultimate goal of treatment for OCD instead of just symptom reduction, as has been suggested in other disorders. These and other issues should be discussed at future meetings of the IOCDC and influence how we conceptualize the disorder and design future treatment trials.
Hollander
Eric
E
Department of Psychiatry, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY 10029, USA. eric.hollander@mssm.edu
Zohar
Joseph
J
D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy; D006801:Humans; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D009626:Terminology as Topic; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors