Standard therapies are of limited value for obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).

Researchers at Swinburne University of Technology, in Australia, reviewed the value of CAM, self-help techniques, and lifestyle interventions. (more…)

Treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) has improved significantly with the use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs).

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, in Philadelphia, examined the effects of cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) as a way to augment the response to SRIs. (more…)

Researchers at the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University, in Greenville, North Carolina tell us, “The number of people with psychiatric disorders who use CAM is on the rise,… estimates of CAM use range from 8% to 57%.” Most of this is to treat anxiety and depression.

Is it worth the effort? (more…)

Several nutritional supplements are purported to treat anxiety. However, only inositol has evidence of superiority vs placebo and comparability with the SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor) fluvoxamine (Luvox; not available in the US).

That’s the conclusion from Dr. Sy Atezaz Saeed and 2 coauthors from East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina. (more…)

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is an established treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). It is equal or perhaps superior to pharmacotherapy.

Now researchers from the University of California at Los Angeles and San Diego have identified changes in the brain that might explain how this happens. (more…)