PARIS -- A treatment involving the electric stimulation of the brain, used to help people suffering from Parkinson's disease, may also help to cure obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), French scientists have found.

In a study Published Saturday in the British medical Journal The Lancet, a Paris-based team of researchers detailed the haphazard discovery of the potential cure for the psychological disorder, which the scientists say affects roughly two percent of people.

The team, led by Inserm researchers Yves Agid and Luc Mallet, found the link largely by chance, observing cerebral electrostimulation on patients with Parkinson's.

Two of the patients, who were also longtime sufferers of OCD, lost all obsessive-compulsive behavior after the operation.

The cerebral electrostimulation technique, reserved for the most serious Parkinson's cases, involves the insertion of tiny electrodes into the skull used to stimulate parts of the brain that control movement.

Obsessive-compulsive disorders are characterized by an obsession with cleanliness, order and symmetry, or by irrational doubts and fears.

Sometimes OCD sufferers wash their hands or repeat rituals of cleanliness and verification for hours every day.

The tragic and often incapcitating symptoms of OCD were graphically illustrated by Hollywood actor Jack Nicholson in the film **** "As Good as It Gets."**** A third of OCD patients are resistant to the usual treatment, commonly a mix of behavioral therapy and anti-depressants.

The French study focused on a 51-year-old woman, diagnosed with OCD at 18, obsessed with domestic cleanliness with a morbid fear of being found dead in a dirty home.

The other patient was a 50-year-old man, suffering from OCD since 10, who spent over two hours daily double-checking doors to make sure they were properly closed.

After the Parkinson's treatment, OCD symptoms disappeared and had not returned during 18 months following the operation. The physical effects of Parkinson's (tremors and rigidity) disappeared almost totally in one and were significantly reduced in the other.

Parkinson's involves the deterioration of certain nerve cells in the brain which produce dopamine. As less of this amino acid is produced, nerve control begins to fail causing trembling, stiffness and other symptoms.

Several hundred people worldwide have been treated for the disease using the electrode stimulation, which reduces and in some cases eliminates the physical shaking and stiffness.

The new research suggests that electrostimulation may also act on a range of psychiatric as well as neurological disorders.

The electrodes can "target very precise brain structures in a manner that is both reversible and non-destructive", and their use may be adapted according to the changing symptoms of a patient, the article added.

Calling the findings "preliminary results", the scientists stressed more research was needed to further determine the precise effects of the neurosurgical technique on behavioral and psychiatric disorders, AFP reported.