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Late-Onset Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Associated with Left Cerebellar Lesion

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Abstract

The onset of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) after age 50 is rare and generally related to an organic etiology. An involvement of fronto-striatal circuits has been strongly suggested, whereas cerebellum remains so far scarcely explored. We present here the description of a “pure” late-onset OCD associated with a cerebellar lesion, neither comorbid with other mental disorders nor with neurological syndromes. To our knowledge, this condition was not previously described in literature. The patient is a 62-year-old woman who developed a late-onset OCD associated with a left cerebellar lesion due to an arachnoid cyst in the left posterior fossa. We debate the possible role of the cerebellar lesion in favoring a transition from a predisposing liability (namely an obsessive-compulsive personality disorder and a depressive status) to the onset of OCD in this woman.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Dr. Laura Cucurachi, Dr. Francesca Ormitti, and Dr. Giorgio Baldari for their important contribution in neurological and neuroimaging aspects of the present case report.

Conflict of Interest

No authors received funding for the research and had financial involvement that could represent potential conflicts of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neuroscience, Psychiatric Unit, University of Parma, Parma, Italy

    Rebecca Ottoni, Paolo Ossola, Chiara De Panfilis & Carlo Marchesi

  2. Mental Health Department, Local Health Service, Parma, Italy

    Matteo Tonna

  3. Dipartimento di Neuroscienze, Unità di Psichiatria, Ospedale-Padiglione Braga, Università di Parma, Via Gramsci 14, 43125, Parma, Italy

    Carlo Marchesi

Authors
  1. Matteo Tonna
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  2. Rebecca Ottoni
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  3. Paolo Ossola
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  4. Chiara De Panfilis
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  5. Carlo Marchesi
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Correspondence to Carlo Marchesi.

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Tonna, M., Ottoni, R., Ossola, P. et al. Late-Onset Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Associated with Left Cerebellar Lesion. Cerebellum 13, 531–535 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12311-014-0561-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12311-014-0561-8

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