Obsessive compulsive symptoms in Gilles de la Tourette syndrome and obsessive compulsive disorder: differences by diagnosis and family history.

The distribution of obsessive compulsive symptoms was compared in 16 individuals with primary obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and 16 individuals with Gilles de la Tourette syndrome (GTS) and associated obsessive compulsive behaviors (OCB). The two groups showed significant differences in the distribution of OC symptomatology. Furthermore, those OCD probands who shared a similar symptom profile with GTS individuals all had a positive family history of OCD. All of the other OCD probands were isolated cases. Implications of this finding on the etiology and pathogenesis of the two disorders are discussed.