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Previous studies examining neuropsychological functioning in pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) have presented heterogeneous results. To clarify if this variability could be related to the existence of discrete cognitive profiles, we conducted a cluster analysis to identify homogeneous groups of patients with similar neuropsychological performance in a sample of 61 children and adolescents with OCD. Then, each OCD group was compared to a matched control sample (n=40) with regard to their neuropsychological variables. Finally, demographic and clinical comparisons were conducted to investigate differences between the OCD groups. A two-cluster solution was identified. The first group (n=52, 85%) performed comparably to controls in all neuropsychological domains (“preserved”) whereas the second group (n=9, 15%) exhibited a poorer performance than controls in non-verbal memory (p< 0.01) and visuospatial abilities (p< 0.01). Contrary to our expectations, the two OCD groups did not differ in demographic and clinical variables. These findings support the presence of at least two cognitive profiles in children and adolescents with OCD, and begin to address the relationship between these discrete groups and clinical and functional factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An abstract of the article "Depression and Anxiety in Tourette's Disorder: An International Perspective" by Blanca Garcia-Delgar, Maxwell Luber, and colleagues is presented.

Pre- and perinatal complications have been implicated in the onset and clinical expression of Tourette syndrome albeit with considerable inconsistencies across studies. Also, little is known about their role in co-occurring obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and attention–deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in individuals with a tic disorder. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the role of pre- and perinatal complications in relation to the presence and symptom severity of chronic tic disorder and co-occurring OCD and ADHD using data of 1113 participants from the Tourette International Collaborative Genetics study. This study included 586 participants with a chronic tic disorder and 527 unaffected family controls. We controlled for age and sex differences by creating propensity score matched subsamples for both case-control and within-case analyses. We found that premature birth (OR = 1.72) and morning sickness requiring medical attention (OR = 2.57) were associated with the presence of a chronic tic disorder. Also, the total number of pre- and perinatal complications was higher in those with a tic disorder (OR = 1.07). Furthermore, neonatal complications were related to the presence (OR = 1.46) and severity ( b = 2.27) of co-occurring OCD and also to ADHD severity ( b = 1.09). Delivery complications were only related to co-occurring OCD (OR = 1.49). We conclude that early exposure to adverse situations during pregnancy is related to the presence of chronic tic disorders. Exposure at a later stage, at birth or during the first weeks of life, appears to be associated with co-occurring OCD and ADHD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

4.33 Psychopathology and Tourette's Disorder in Two Countries: What Does the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) Tell Us?. [Extracted from the article]