ABSTRACT

Two neuropsychiatric illnesses that have prompted research over the last decade into possible infectious triggers are obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and Tourette syndrome (TS). With a lifetime prevalence of 2-3%, OCD is an anxiety disorder characterized by recurrent, unwanted, and distressing thoughts, images, or impulses (obsessions) and/or complex, repetitive, rule-governed behaviors that the patient feels driven to perform (compulsions). Childhoodonset OCD accounts for approximately half of all OCD patients, l and is associated with a high rate of comorbid tic disorders, along with disruptive and developmental disorders. Higher familial risk and poorer treatment response are also frequently associated with childhood-onset OCD. Tourette syndrome is a chronic neuropsychiatric disorder characterized by multiple motor and phonic tics that wax and wane in both type and severity, and by an array of behavioral problems including symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and OCD. The clinical manifestations of TS include movements such as shoulder shrugging, head turning, eye-blinking, and uncontrolled vocalizations of both a simple and complex nature.2 The prevalence of tics can be as high as 18.5% in school age children and 23.4% in classrooms for children with learning disabilities.3