Obsessive-compulsive disorder concurrent with Melkersson-Rosenthal Syndrome: a case report

Objective: To describe a case of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) comorbid with Melkersson-Rosenthal Syndrome (MRS).

Methods: We present a case study of comorbid OCD and MRS in a 13-year-old girl.

Results: She admitted to doubt obsessions and a control compulsion. The patient history included frequent facial palsy attacks, and she took prednisolone during each attack. She had her first such attack at 5 years of age, and she had suffered five attacks since then, the last one occurring 2 months before her presentation. Her obsessions began 1 week after the last attack. She was diagnosed MRS and concurrent OCD based on Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, diagnostic criteria. She was started on 20 mg/day fluoxetine. The control compulsion subsided during the second month of therapy, and the doubt obsessions improved significantly.

Conclusion: Considering that the etiologies of MRS and childhood-onset OCD have been attributed to infectious agents and autoimmune events, we conclude that both causes may play an important role in the etiology of these conditions.