A particular form of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is better than a commonly used antipsychotic for treating obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), a study has found.
Researchers from Columbia University and the University of Pennsylvania in the US carried out a controlled trial with 100 OCD patients in which some received exposure and ritual prevention treatment, some received the antipsychotic risperidone and the rest were given a placebo.
It was found that 80 per cent of the CBT patients responded, compared to 23 per cent of the risperidone group and five per cent from the placebo group.
Following CBT treatment, 43 per cent of people saw their OCD symptoms reduced to a minimal level.
The study leaders said in the journal JAMA Psychiatry that CBT works by retraining the brain's habit-forming circuitry and should be offered to patients who do not respond to antidepressants.
As many as 12 in every 1,000 people are affected by OCD, which is ranked in the top ten of the most disabling illnesses of any kind by the World Health Organization.