Comorbid obsessive-compulsive disorder and Tourette syndrome: Therapeutic interventions.

Author: Eapen, V., Robertson, Mary M

Source:
CNS drugs, 13(3), 173-183.
The relationship between Tourette Syndrome (TS) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is of great clinical and scientific importance, one that has revolutionized our understanding of the pathogenesis of both the conditions. Available evidence about the TS-OCD relationship also raises new questions as to whether TS-related OCD is phenomenologically and neurobiologically different from primary OCD and hence whether they are also different in the pattern of pharmacological response. In this review, therapeutic interventions and, in particular, pharmacological strategies that are useful in patients with TS and comorbid OCD are examined. The most effective treatment in these situations seems to be the combination of a serotonergic drug together with a dopamine antagonist.