Treatment for Trichotillomania
Before you start to tear your hair out over what this means, let me elucidate. Trichotillomania is a psychiatric condition in which the patient suffers from an obsessive compulsion to tear out hair in clumps! Well, they do it all the time, unlike some medical students who get this periodically, coinciding with exam times.
But jokes apart, this condition is indeed a distressing one, albeit not a life threatening one – at least not so in the short run – and hence its treatment has not received widespread attention! However, there is hope yet for the patients, according to a new study:
Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2009;66(7):756-763
Its a double blinded, placebo controlled trial (isn’t there a lot of hair tearing about such studies now?) estimating the efficacy of N-acetylcysteine, the amino acid, as a pharmacotherapeutic agent against this disorder! Moving away from the usual series of serotonergic drugs to treat psychiatric conditions, this study tries to explore the fact that NAC may assist in restoring the extracellular glutamate concentrations in the nucleus accumbens and therefore alleviate the compulsive symptoms. The Authors conclude:
This study, the first to our knowledge that examines the efficacy of a glutamatergic agent in the treatment of trichotillomania, found that N-acetylcysteine demonstrated statistically significant reductions in trichotillomania symptoms. No adverse events occurred in the N-acetylcysteine group, andN-acetylcysteine was well tolerated. Pharmacologic modulation of the glutamate system may prove to be useful in the control of a range of compulsive behaviors.
And don’t take my “hair-say” about this, read the whole hair raising paper here:
Intersting!
I’m sure I have borderline trichotillomania. (Though a few more exams, and I might be pushed into the category soon!)
And the use of N-Ac for the treatment- sounds co-related with neurophys.
-Arpita
This is a breakthrough study! As a hair puller since the age of 6, I hope this helps the millions of us who have pulled hair in silence and in shame for our entire lives.
Gr8 one…
@ Avirup
Thanks!
@ Gary
Thanks for the comment. Visited your site. Appreciate the good work you are doing. Keep it going. If possible, send me a link back at this post from your site.
Thanks, again!
@ Arps,
Well, for medical students with trich, this aint too helpful!
well a good stuff but buddy a few more details regd d treatment needed to b undated. ne ways 1ce again a good job. keep it up
i have a serious problem of trichotillomania,i pull may hair regularly and the frquency increases when i am concentraintg,studying,specially durnign the exams,i try to control myself again n again but all in vein, i treat my hair n once it has grown i again get the habit and turn myself to bald,please help me!!!!!
Ive been doing this since the age of 8 & now 10 years later…I am forced to wear wigs,Makeing friends isnt possible because my balding keeps me from connecting.i cant swim or do any actiivitys without worrying about my hair first.Finaly my only sulotion now days is to constantly be bald then so that i have no hair to pull && hopefully break the cycle wish me luck?