Neurological Soft Signs and Clinical Features of Tic-Related Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Indicate a Unique Subtype

J Nerv Ment Dis. 2020 Jan;208(1):21-27. doi: 10.1097/NMD.0000000000001098.

Abstract

Tic-related obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) may be a unique OCD subtype. This study examined whether neurological soft signs (NSSs) of patients with tic-related and tic-free OCD enable discrimination of these subgroups. We used the Neurological Evaluation Scale to assess 32 patients with tic-related and 94 with tic-free OCD, as well as 84 controls. Most patients with tic-related OCD were male, with earlier illness onset and poorer insight scores than those of patients with tic-free OCD. Patients with tic-related OCD had poorer motor coordination, sensory integration, and motor sequencing than did tic-free patients. Logistic regression using NSS subscale scores predicted tic-related OCD. Patients with tic-related OCD displayed greater neurodevelopmental abnormalities than did tic-free patients. NSSs of the former group suggest the need to separate this subgroup. Our results also support the newly introduced tic-related specifier in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Case-Control Studies
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / classification
  • Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / diagnosis*
  • Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / pathology
  • Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / physiopathology
  • Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
  • Tics / diagnosis
  • Tics / pathology
  • Tics / physiopathology
  • Tics / psychology*