Psychiatry and Clinical Psychopharmacology

Clinical psychiatry Hoarding disorder in adults: a case report

Psychiatry and Clinical Psychopharmacology 2013; 23: Supplement S235-S235
Read: 543 Published: 17 March 2021

Like most human behaviors, saving and collecting possessions can range from totally normal and adaptive to excessive or pathological. Hoarding, or compulsive hoarding, is some of the more commonly used terms to refer to this extreme form of collectivism. Hoarding is highly prevalent and, when severe, it is associated with substantial functional disability and represents a great burden for the sufferers, their families, and society in general. It is generally considered difficult to treat. Hoarding Disorder (HD) can occur in the context of a variety of neurological and psychiatric conditions. HD is defined, in most cases, as ‘the inability to resist the urge to acquire possessions and to discard possessions’. It has an early age onset, chronic course and significant levels of comorbidity and morbidity. The authors report the case of a 56-years-old female with HD. This case emphasizes the probable role of the cerebellum in the pathophysiology of both obsessive-compulsive disorder and schizophrenia, and reconsiders the existence of a so-called schizo-obsessive subtype of schizophrenia.

EISSN 2475-0581