Inositol in Trichotillomania

Pathological hair-pulling, trichotillomania, has been defined as repetitive, intentionally performed pulling that causes noticeable hair loss and results in clinically significant distress or functional impairment (1). Trichotillomania appears relatively common with an estimated prevalence between 1-3% (2). Data on the pharmacological treatment of trichotillomania is limited to case reports and conflicting double-blind studies of serotonin reuptake inhibitors (3).

Inositol is used for diabetic nerve pain, panic disorder, high cholesterol, insomnia, cancer, depression, schizophrenia, Alzheimer's disease, attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism, promoting hair growth, a skin disorder called psoriasis, and treating side effects of medical treatment with some medications, including lithium. A small study (n=3) found that subject's showed improvement while taking Inositol in both trichotillomania and pathological skin picking (4). This suggests that Inositol might be effective in treating a large sample of subjects with trichotillomania and it also suggests that it may be effective for impulse control disorders in general. Inositol has also been shown to be effective in treating obsessive compulsive disorder and showed significantly lower scores on the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (5). Both studies indicate the effectiveness of Inositol in treating impulsivity and compulsivity in subjects. There is no medication approved by the Food and Drug Administration for trichotillomania. Inositol represents a potentially safe and effective treatment.

Inclusion criteria

• Age 18-65 years
• Trichotillomania (TTM) as the primary psychiatric diagnosis
• Women's participation required negative results on a beta-human chorionic gonadotropin pregnancy test and stable use of a medically accepted form of contraception.
• Signed informed consent before entry into the study.

Exclusion criteria

• Unstable medical illness or clinically significant abnormalities on laboratory tests or physical examination at screening visit
• Current pregnancy or lactation, or inadequate contraception in women of childbearing potential
• A need for medication other than ecopipam with possible psychotropic effects
• Lifetime history of bipolar disorder type I or II, dementia, or schizophrenia as determined by the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV
• Current (past 12-months) DSM-IV substance abuse or dependence
• Positive urine drug screen at screening
• Initiation of cognitive behavior therapy within 3 months prior to study baseline
• Baseline score of ≥17 on the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (17-item HDRS
• Any suicidality based on clinical interview
• History of head injury or neurological disorder (such as seizures)
• Any history of psychiatric hospitalization in the past year
• Any history of a suicide attempt