Trichotillomania as a Manifestation of Dementia
January 2016
in “
Case Reports in Psychiatry
”
Studysummary The authors report a dementia patient who developed severe trichotillomania unresponsive to SSRIs, which improved with quetiapine; they suggest dopamine blockade may manage such symptoms in dementia.
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The document discussed a case of trichotillomania in a 54-year-old woman with early-onset Alzheimer's disease, highlighting a potential link between neurodegenerative diseases and compulsive hair-pulling behavior. Despite trials of SSRIs, her symptoms persisted but improved significantly with quetiapine 150 mg/day. The study suggested that trichotillomania in dementia might be linked to frontostriatal dysfunction and that dopamine blockade could be more effective than SSRIs. It emphasized the importance of considering psychiatric symptoms in dementia patients and the need for further research to understand the neurobiological basis and treatment of trichotillomania in dementia.
