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01-06-2013 | Original Paper

Delusional Misidentification Syndromes in Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder

Authors: Isabela A. Melca, Clarissa L. Rodrigues, Maria A. Serra-Pinheiro, Christos Pantelis, Dennis Velakoulis, Mauro V. Mendlowicz, Leonardo F. Fontenelle

Published in: Psychiatric Quarterly | Issue 2/2013

Abstract

Delusional misidentification syndromes (DMS) have been rarely reported in patients with conditions other than schizophrenia-related disorders, diffuse brain disease (dementia) and focal neurological illness. In this report, we describe DMS (i.e. Capgras and Fregoli syndromes) in two patients with severe and treatment resistant obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD), one with paranoid personality disorder (PPD) and the other with a pervasive developmental disorder (PDD) not otherwise specified. While our findings highlight an interesting phenomenon (the occurrence of DMS in OCD), it is presently unclear whether this association is rare or underreported. Misidentification syndromes might be the ultimate result of a combination of obsessive fears and preexisting cognitive bias/deficits, such as mistrustfulness (in PPD) or poor theory of mind (in PDD).

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Title: Delusional Misidentification Syndromes in Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder
Authors: Isabela A. Melca
Clarissa L. Rodrigues
Maria A. Serra-Pinheiro
Christos Pantelis
Dennis Velakoulis
Mauro V. Mendlowicz
Leonardo F. Fontenelle
Publication date: 01-06-2013
Publisher: Springer US
Published in: Psychiatric Quarterly / Issue 2/2013
Print ISSN: 0033-2720
Electronic ISSN: 1573-6709
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11126-012-9237-z

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Delusional Misidentification Syndromes in Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder

Abstract

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Abstract

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