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Case Reports
. 2012 Jul;4(3):176-8.
doi: 10.4103/0974-7753.100090.

N-acetylcysteine in the Treatment of Trichotillomania

Ana Rita Rodrigues-Barata  1 , Antonella Tosti, Antonio Rodríguez-Pichardo, Francisco Camacho-Martínez
Affiliations
Case Reports

N-acetylcysteine in the Treatment of Trichotillomania

Ana Rita Rodrigues-Barata et al. Int J Trichology. 2012 Jul.

Abstract

Trichotillomania is as medical condition caused by the patient himself by pulling out of is own hair, resulting in a perceptible hair loss pattern that frequently is associated with other psychiatric processes. Generally has a chronic course in most patients, and a challenging therapeutical management. There are several available options for is treatment, but the clinical response is not satisfactory in many patients. Recently, N-acetylcisteine, a glutamate modulator, has shown efficacy in the treatment of trichotillomania and other compulsive behaviors, and is considered a new alternative in the management of this condition. We describe two patients with trichotillomania successfully treated with N-acetylcysteine. Nevertheless, further studies need to be conducted to establish the appropriate treatment regimen and to evaluate it long-term efficacy in improving this chronic condition.

Keywords: Compulsive behavior; N-acetylcysteine; treatment; trichotillomania.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(a) Patchy alopecia in frontal area with presence of hairs with different length; (b) Complete regrowth in the frontal area after two month treatment with N-acetylcysteine
Figure 2
Figure 2
Dermoscopic examination before (a) and after (b) three month treatment with N-acetylcysteine 1,200 mg/day
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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