Volume 36 · Number 7
JULY 2006

Obsessive-compulsive Disorder

By Eric Hollander, MD

Editor’s Note: This guest editorial was co-written with Dr. Hollander by Lavinia Rossi, MD; and Bernardo Dell’Osso, MD.

During the past decade, scientific advancements have led to a important development in the conceptualization of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) as being possibly distinct from the anxiety disorders, as well as considering it as an autonomous category — the obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders (OCSDs). Such a perspective was initially based on phenomenological and clinical speculations (ie, a preferential response of these disorders to serotonergic agents and a frequent comorbidity between OCSDs and OCD). Genetic, biological, and neuroimaging studies have provided further support to this theory and have helped to integrate scientific finds with clinical evidence.

ABOUT THE GUEST EDITOR

Dr. Hollander is professor of psychiatry and director of clinical psychopharmacology; director, Compulsive, Impulsive, and Anxiety Disorders Program; and director, Seaver and Greater New York Autism Center of Excellence, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY.

Dr. Hollander received his BA degree from Brandeis University and his MD from SUNY Downstate Medical College, Brooklyn, NY. He completed an internship in internal medicine and residency and chief residency in psychiatry at Mount Sinai Hospital, as well as a National Institute of Mental Health research fellowship at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York.

Dr. Hollander is involved in research on the neuropharmacology, neuropsychiatry, functional imaging, and treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder, impulsive/aggressive personality disorders, and obsessive-compulsive related disorders such as body dysmorphic disorder, pathological gambling, and autism. He serves as chair of the Research Planning Agenda of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition, for obsessive-compulsive behavior spectrum disorders.

Dr. Hollander has received two national research awards from the American Psychiatric Association and a Distinguished Investigator Award from the National Alliance for Research in Schizophrenia and Depression. He has published more than 450 scientific reports in the psychiatric field. He is co-author of a book with television personality Marc Summers, Everything In Its Place: My Trials and Triumphs with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and co-authored with Nick Bakalar Coping with Social Anxiety: The Definitive Guide to Effective Treatment Options.