Late-onset obsessive-compulsive disorder associated with left cerebellar lesion.
The onset of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) after age 50 is rare and generally related to an organic etiology. An involvement of fronto-striatal circuits has been strongly suggested, whereas cerebellum remains so far scarcely explored. We present here the description of a "pure" late-onset OCD associated with a cerebellar lesion, neither comorbid with other mental disorders nor with neurological syndromes. To our knowledge, this condition was not previously described in literature. The patient is a 62-year-old woman who developed a late-onset OCD associated with a left cerebellar lesion due to an arachnoid cyst in the left posterior fossa. We debate the possible role of the cerebellar lesion in favoring a transition from a predisposing liability (namely an obsessive-compulsive personality disorder and a depressive status) to the onset of OCD in this woman.
Mental Health Department, Local Health Service, Parma, Italy.
Matteo
M
Tonna
Rebecca
R
Ottoni
Paolo
P
Ossola
Chiara
C
De Panfilis
Carlo
C
Marchesi
D002531:Cerebellum / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008875:Middle Aged; D009460:Neurologic Examination; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon