The Health Diva

The BBC News (7/7) reports that, according to a study published in the July issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry, “a simple supplement” containing the amino acid N-acetylcysteine “could help treat people with” trichotillomania, “an impulse disorder that manifests in hair-tearing.” People who suffer from trichotillomania have “uncontrollable urges to pluck the hair of the scalp and even eyebrows and lashes, often to the point of baldness.”

For the study, researchers from the University of Minnesota School of Medicine asked a “group of 50 people with trichotillomania…to take part in a 12-week trial of the pill containing the amino acid N-acetylcysteine. Half of the participants “were given the treatment, and the other half a dummy pill.” At study end, the team found that “patients taking the active medication had significantly greater reductions in hair-pulling symptoms than those taking placebo”. Reuters (7/7, Stern) explains that study participants received a starting dose of 1,200 milligrams of N-acetylcysteine daily, which was doubled after a period of six weeks if no improvement took place. At the end of the study, 56 percent of the participants were considered to have had improvement in their condition, compared to the 16 percent of participants taking placebo. Forty-four percent of the participants did not respond to N-acetylcysteine.

Recent mouse studies revealed that the supplement affects glutamate, “a brain chemical that has been linked to compulsive behaviors.” Study author Jon E. Grant, JD, MD, MPH, “cautioned against overuse of the supplement, which appeared affective in the study at 2,400 milligrams per day.” It also remains unclear whether short-term consumption would result in permanent improvements, or whether people would need to take the supplement indefinitely. Taking the supplement in combination with therapy would probably work best,” Dr. Grant theorized. Trichotillomania appears more common in women and is often linked to anxiety disorders and social phobias. It responds somewhat to counseling, but antidepressants have been largely unsuccessful in treating the disorder.

The Diva is now offering a selection of NAC remedies in her store.