title: Treatment of puberty trichotillomania with low-dose aripiprazole.
abstract: The present case is of a 14-year-old female with trichotillomania (TTM) that was treated with a low dose of aripiprazole (ARP) 1.5 mg/day. To our knowledge, this is the first published report to show an improvement of pubertal TTM using an ultra-low dose of ARP. In this case, a 50-mg fluvoxamine monotherapy for 2 years and a subsequent 4-month comprehensive cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) monotherapy did not improve her hair-pulling symptoms. However, the treatment with a low-dose ARP of 1.5 mg/day dramatically improved her TTM symptoms without extrapyramidal symptoms. In this regard, low-dose ARP treatment for TTM might be a safe alternative to antidepressants, which carry the risk of agitation with suicidal ideation in adolescents.
authors.affiliation: Department of Child Psychiatry, Chiba University Hospital, Inohana 1-8-1, Chiba, 260-8670 Japan ; Department of Psychiatry, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba, Japan.
authors.forename: Tsuyoshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sasaki
authors.affiliation: Department of Child Psychiatry, Chiba University Hospital, Inohana 1-8-1, Chiba, 260-8670 Japan ; Department of Psychiatry, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba, Japan.
authors.forename: Masaomi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Iyo
keywords: Aripiprazole; Puberty; Trichotillomania