Pharmacotherapy of trichotillomania (hair pulling disorder) an updated systematic review.
Individuals affected by trichotillomania (TTM) (hair-pulling disorder) consciously or non-consciously pull out their own body hair. The disorder has recently been incorporated into a chapter entitled, Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders in the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, fifth edition. The review describes the literature currently available on the pharmacotherapy for TTM, including both randomized controlled trials and open-label trials of pharmacotherapy for TTM in adults or children. Early work focused on the serotonin reuptake inhibitors however, the majority of the trials have been negative. There is a small body of evidence focused on pharmacotherapy for TTM. In future, larger trials are required to expand on the preliminary evidence available for N-acetylcysteine, olanzapine and dronabinol in recent trials.