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Obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) is a psychiatric disorder characterised by distressing, irrational, time-consuming, obsessive thoughts and repetitive rituals. When severe, OCD tends to be chronic, often completely impairs an individual socially and occupationally, and results in a significantly reduced quality of life.1 Although pharmacotherapy (eg, serotonin reuptake inhibitors) and cognitive behavioral therapy (eg, exposure and response prevention therapy) are effective in a majority of people with OCD, a small percentage (3%–5%) of people with OCD report no benefit from available treatments and remain impaired.2
Neurosurgery, particularly deep brain stimulation (DBS), has been used for decades in …
Footnotes
Contributors The author solely wrote the commentary.
Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.
Competing interests The author has received research grants from Otsuka and Biohaven Pharmaceuticals. He receives yearly compensation from Springer Publishing for acting as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Gambling Studies and has received royalties from Oxford University Press, American Psychiatric Publishing, Norton Press and McGraw Hill.
Provenance and peer review Commissioned; internally peer reviewed.