University of SouthFloridaresearchers note promising results
Obsessive Compulsion Behavior is very difficult to treat in children but now researchers may have found a treatment to help.
The National Institutes of Health provided $1.1 million to researchers to examine a treatment for children with OCD by using an antibiotic which normally is prescribed for tuberculosis. The medication D-cycloserine (DCS) seems to increase the brains ability to stifle those fears which feed into OCD.
Dr. Eric Storch, PhD, M.S., associate professor of clinical psychology department of pediatrics and psychiatry at the university and lead researcher stated that promising results have already been witnessed in a small pilot trail in children with OCD.
Now with the grant funding from NIH he will be leading a study which will ultimately include 150 children age range from seven to seventeen. Half of the children will receive the antibiotic which will be administered before the seven therapy sessions. The other half of the children will receive a placebo.
Cognitive behavioral therapy (form of talk therapy) will be given to all children in the study in order to address and encounter the fears at the root of their OCD.
According to Dr. Storch, "The beauty is they are getting the gold standard of care,"
Mentioning that over 80% of children with OCD will seem improvement from the therapy alone even though with half still combating OCD symptoms. The antibiotic may improve outcomes. OCD is very hard for a child to do things they wish to do like homework.
Ben Watson, eight years old from Tampa, Florida is one of the first children enrolled in the study. His symptoms appeared three years ago when studying about germs in school. His mother Emily, remembers him coming home from school full of questions concerning germs. Then he started needing hand sanitizer when they went out shopping just in case he had tripped and touched the floor. Then it had turned into an extended ritual which lasted as long as the time it took him to count to 100. This fear in Ben made it hard to do things such as petting animals at the zoo. He had become hysterical just by touching a bird at SeaWorld.
The symptoms of OCD are different from child to child leaving no rhythm or reason to the actions.
Ben had been encourage to take a lollipop which fell on the floor and licking it in order to reinforce that he had nothing to fear. Ben is currently being helped by therapists for his other behaviors such as erasing and rewriting certain letters in his homework. Making matters even worse for Ben is he has attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and Tourette’s syndrome. Tourette’s can happen at times in children with OCD.
Emily does mention that this new treatment is making a difference for her son who now can drop something on the floor like a lollipop and put it back in his mouth. Ben is proud of himself that it does not bother him anymore.
Emily states that the family likes the fact that their participation may help other children with OCD. Even though they have long drive to St. Petersburg where the research office is located, it helps in the fact that there is no charge for their son’s therapy which is common for clinical trials.
As of now the study has enrolled six children including one family which travels from Georgia every week. Ten sessions of therapy are planned for each child according to researchers.
Dr. Storch in closing notes that the hope of this research is its success in treating OCD early in life so the children can grow up into adults without the burden of this disorder. Dr. Storch notes that a child’ brain is developing at an early age and if they can address things and teach them, the brain then can almost reprogram itself.
If you have a child with OCD and wish for them to participate in this study you can contact the researchers at 727-767-8230 or by email at rothmanctr@health.usf.edu.
Special notation: your child does not have to be already diagnosed with OCD to participate.
Another noted therapy for children with OCD is hypnotherapy. Hypnosis is an altered state of consciousness or as described by some persons a normal state of focused attention.
Hypnosis has several forms one of which is suggestion hypnotherapy. In children, it is usually a state of self-hypnosis when they are playing imaginary games. Due to the fact people are open to suggestion while in a hypnotic state they can change their behavior, thoughts, feelings and attitudes.
If you’re worried about hypnosis here a few facts to remember:
The hypnotherapist can not control minds whether it is an adults or children.
Does not cause people to fall asleep.
Make you forget what has taken place.
Make you do anything against your will.
Hypnotherapy for children dates back hundreds of years to 1779 by Mesmer, who reportedly used hypnotherapy for children with vision problems. In the 1970’s it was suggested that hypnotizing children is easier than adults and hypnotherapy could be used for children for treating behavioral and physical problems.
Hypnotherapy can treat hundreds of behavior disorders, chronic diseases, pain and discomfort.
Please not there no laws regulating who can be called a hypnotherapist. They can range from physicians to psychologist to informally trained. It is best to seek out a hypnotherapist that has had received formal training and therefore is certified.
Hypnotherapy in or around Detroit:
15403 Baylis Street
Detroit
313-397-1464
A & L Chiropractic Center (certified hypnotherapist on staff)
24281 Middlebelt Road
Farmington Hills
248-477-3977
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