Brain scans can help OCD treatment

Psychotherapy can help some people avoid the disruptive behaviors linked to obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and a new study suggests that brain scans can help spot those patients for whom the therapy will be most effective.
The treatment is called cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). It works by placing patients in controlled situations where they are exposed to anxiety-causing stimuli, so that they gradually learn to deal better with these situations. "Cognitive behavioral therapy is in many cases very effective, at least in the short term," said Dr. Jamie Feusner, an associate professor of psychiatry at University of California, Los Angeles, and director of the Semel Institute's Adult OCD Program.
However, the treatment is "costly, time-consuming, difficult for patients and, in many areas, not available," Feusner noted in a UCLA news release. So, "if someone will end up having their symptoms return [after treatment], it would be useful to know before they get treatment," he reasoned.
His team wondered if certain patterns on brain scans might point to those patients who have the most to gain from CBT. The notion has some merit, said one expert, especially since more reliable treatment is needed for people suffering from OCD.
"OCD is an illness in which patients experience obsessions and then act on them by performing compulsions," explained Dr. Alan Manevitz, a clinical psychiatrist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City.
Even though "the patient realizes that these obsessions and compulsions are unwanted, unreasonable and excessive, he or she cannot stop listening to the thoughts and acting on them," he said.
According to Manevitz, one in every 40 Americans (2.5 percent) has clinical OCD, with symptoms bad enough to interfere with daily living, and another 10 percent have a lower-level form of the illness, where thoughts intrude but do not reach such a disruptive state. "The past few decades, however, have seen the emergence of many effective treatments, both pharmacological and psychotherapeutic," including CBT, Manevitz said.
Health Day

 

Brain scans can help OCD treatment

Psychotherapy can help some people avoid the disruptive behaviors linked to obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and a new study suggests that brain scans can help spot those patients for whom the therapy will be most effective. The treatment is called cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). It works by placing patients in controlled situations where they are exposed to anxiety-causing stimuli, so that they gradually learn to deal better with these situations. Cognitive behavioral therapy is in many cases very effective, at least in the short term, said Dr. Jamie Feusner, an associate professor of psychiatry at University of California, Los Angeles, and director of the Semel Institutes Adult OCD Program. However, the treatment is costly, time-consuming, difficult for patients and, in many areas, not available, Feusner noted in a UCLA news release. So, if someone will end up having their symptoms return [after treatment], it would be useful to know before they get treatment, he reasoned. His team wondered if certain patterns on brain scans might point to those patients who have the most to gain from CBT. The notion has some merit, said one expert, especially since more reliable treatment is needed for people suffering from OCD. OCD is an illness in which patients experience obsessions and then act on them by performing compulsions, explained Dr. Alan Manevitz, a clinical psychiatrist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. Even though the patient realizes that these obsessions and compulsions are unwanted, unreasonable and excessive, he or she cannot stop listening to the thoughts and acting on them, he said. According to Manevitz, one in every 40 Americans (2.5 percent) has clinical OCD, with symptoms bad enough to interfere with daily living, and another 10 percent have a lower-level form of the illness, where thoughts intrude but do not reach such a disruptive state. The past few decades, however, have seen the emergence of many effective treatments, both pharmacological and psychotherapeutic, including CBT, Manevitz said. Health Day