Diagnosis and fluoxetine treatment of compulsive behavior disorder of adults with mental retardation.

Abstract

A set of research diagnostic criteria was developed to identify potential obsessive-compulsive disorders among individuals with mental retardation and aberrant behaviors. The behavior disorders of 10 subjects who met criteria for compulsive behavior disorder and 6 subjects who did not (comparison subjects) were treated using the medication fluoxetine. All subjects were evaluated using an A-B open-trial method with 4-month baseline and treatment phases. Seven of the 10 subjects with compulsive behavior disorder responded favorably to fluoxetine treatment; none of the comparison subjects responded favorably to this medication. Further, there appeared to be a relation between manifest motor stereotypies, compulsive behaviors, and response to fluoxetine.