An Alzheimer's drug might ease hair-pulling disorder (Memantine)

Medical Xpress / HealthDay/ American Journal of Psychiatry ^ | Feb. 28, 2023 | Dennis Thompson / Jon E. Grant et al

[ConservativeMind]

A long-established Alzheimer's drug can help people with a disorder that causes them to compulsively pull at their hair or pick at their skin, a new clinical trial has concluded.

Memantine considerably improved symptoms in 3 out of 5 patients with either trichotillomania (hair-pulling disorder) or excoriation (skin-picking) disorder, researchers reported.

Hair-pulling and skin-picking disorders affect an estimated 3% to 4% of Americans, Grant said. Patients obsessively pull out strands of hair or pick at their skin, often doing themselves real physical harm.

Overly high levels of glutamate in the brain can cause nerve cells to become overexcited, and this has been associated with conditions like Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Lou Gehrig's disease and multiple sclerosis.

Glutamate also has been linked to mental health problems like mood disorders and obsessive-compulsive disorder, the Cleveland Clinic says.

Some psychiatrists have been prescribing memantine off-label to help treat obsessive-compulsive disorder, "which is sort of a cousin of hair pulling and skin picking," Grant said.

Memantine treatment wound up "much or very much" improving symptoms in 60% of patients taking the drug, while only 8% of patients on placebo reported similar improvement.

However, only about six patients in the memantine group (11%) completely stopped picking or pulling by the end of the trial, compared with one in the placebo group (2%).

"In my experience, memantine—especially if added to something like a serotonin reuptake inhibitor—can be additionally helpful for depressive symptoms, obsessive-compulsive disorder and anxiety," Phillips added.

Memantine also can be used in combination with habit-reversal training, which is the best-proven treatment for hair pulling and skin picking, she said.

While memantine is generic, some pharmacies charge quite a bit for it, Phillips said.

[ConservativeMind]

3-4% of the population have this condition. I knew several girls in college with this. I had no idea it was this common. It seemed an anxiety issue, to me, and still may be partly that.

Memantine goes for as little as $10 at some pharmacies, using the free GoodRX discount. I did see it also going for $92, though, and assumed that was the name-brand form.

[ConservativeMind]

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[familyop]

Far more meth users pick at their skin.

[Varda]

I sometimes sit behind young women who constantly puck at or run their fingers through their hair. It reminds me of dogs who have fleas picking at their fur.
I’ve wondered if a couple doses of ivermectin would fix this.