Obsessive-compulsive-like behavioral changes in pure akinesia

Pure akinesia is a disorder characterized by profound freezing in the absen ce of rigidity or tremor that is not improved by levodopa therapy. We repor t two cases of pure akinesia who developed obsessive-compulsive-disorder- ( OCD-) like behavior during their illness. Although the pathophysiological m echanism underlying freezing is unclear, the coexistence of pure akinesia a nd OCD-like behavior suggests that both symptoms have a common pathological basis in these two cases, presumably damage to the pallidum. (C) 2001 Else vier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.