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Obsessive-Compulsive Neurosis: Two Identical Twin Pairs

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

Peter McGuffin
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, London SE5 6AF
David Mawson
Affiliation:
Maudsley Hospital, Denmark Hill, London SE5 6AF

Summary

Two pairs of monozygotic twins concordant for obsessive-compulsive neurosis are described. In each the proband and co-twin developed their symptoms independently and without prior knowledge of the other's illness. Despite this there was a marked similarity of symptoms within each pair. The existence of these and other pairs reported elsewhere, strongly suggests that familial and possibly genetic factors contribute to the aetiology of the disorder.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1980 

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