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http://www.naturalnews.com/027769_hair_pul...mino_acids.html

 

 

 

Amino Acid N-Acetylcysteine Eases Compulsive Behavior Such as Hair Pulling

 

"A supplement of the amino acid N-acetylcysteine may ease the symptoms of compulsive hair pulling, according to a study conducted by researchers from the Minnesota School of Medicine and published in the Archives of General Psychiatry.

 

Hair-pulling, also known as trichotillomania, is a compulsive disorder that may affect as many as one in seven people at some point. Patients feel a compulsive urge to pull out the hair from their scalps, eyebrows or even eyelashes, sometimes creating bald spots. Some people who suffer from trichotillomania will play with or eat their hair after pulling it out.

 

Although similar to obsessive-compulsive disorder, trichotillomania is not the same condition and does not respond well to antidepressants or other drugs. The condition is not well understood, but the neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin are believed to play a role.

 

Researchers gave a number of trichotillomania patients a 1,200 mg supplement of N-acetylcysteine every day for six weeks. This dose was continued for another six weeks in patients who appeared to be responding, and doubled in patients who did not appear to be responding.

 

Fifty-six percent of patients treated with N-acetylcysteine demonstrated

"much or very much improved" symptoms, compared with only 16 percent of those treated with a placebo. There were no adverse side effects reported.

 

The amino acid treatment proved more effective than the success rate of drug treatments, and was on par with the effectiveness of behavioral therapy or a drug-therapy combination.

 

Researchers said that even if the amino acid treatment proves successful in further studies, behavioral therapy should still be used to try and treat the underlying psychological causes of hair pulling.

 

Previous studies haves suggested that N-acetylcysteine supplements may also be effective at treating symptoms of bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder and schizophrenia. They are also used to treat acetaminophen (Tylenol) overdoses and nasal mucus buildup.

 

The supplements are available over the counter and by prescription.

 

Sources for this story include: www.reuters.com"

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http://www.naturalnews.com/027769_hair_pul...mino_acids.html

 

 

 

Amino Acid N-Acetylcysteine Eases Compulsive Behavior Such as Hair Pulling

 

"A supplement of the amino acid N-acetylcysteine may ease the symptoms of compulsive hair pulling, according to a study conducted by researchers from the Minnesota School of Medicine and published in the Archives of General Psychiatry.

 

Hair-pulling, also known as trichotillomania, is a compulsive disorder that may affect as many as one in seven people at some point. Patients feel a compulsive urge to pull out the hair from their scalps, eyebrows or even eyelashes, sometimes creating bald spots. Some people who suffer from trichotillomania will play with or eat their hair after pulling it out.

 

Although similar to obsessive-compulsive disorder, trichotillomania is not the same condition and does not respond well to antidepressants or other drugs. The condition is not well understood, but the neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin are believed to play a role.

 

Researchers gave a number of trichotillomania patients a 1,200 mg supplement of N-acetylcysteine every day for six weeks. This dose was continued for another six weeks in patients who appeared to be responding, and doubled in patients who did not appear to be responding.

 

Fifty-six percent of patients treated with N-acetylcysteine demonstrated

"much or very much improved" symptoms, compared with only 16 percent of those treated with a placebo. There were no adverse side effects reported.

 

The amino acid treatment proved more effective than the success rate of drug treatments, and was on par with the effectiveness of behavioral therapy or a drug-therapy combination.

 

Researchers said that even if the amino acid treatment proves successful in further studies, behavioral therapy should still be used to try and treat the underlying psychological causes of hair pulling.

 

Previous studies haves suggested that N-acetylcysteine supplements may also be effective at treating symptoms of bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder and schizophrenia. They are also used to treat acetaminophen (Tylenol) overdoses and nasal mucus buildup.

 

The supplements are available over the counter and by prescription.

 

Sources for this story include: www.reuters.com"

 

Thanks, Vickie! I've been wondering about this ever since I saw a news special about some OCD research at the University of Michigan that revealed that OCD brains seem to be lacking in a certain glutimate (?spelling?). I just bought our first bottle of NAC today, and my son's had his first dose. Sounds as though it might take a while to have visible results, but I'm looking forward to watching for the impact. It's good to know that this study saw no negative side effects, also.

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The funny thing is after I posted this, I noticed someone else did too on the OCD board. Chemar mentioned SamE. Actually, I know at least one more person who posted in a different group devoted to kids w/ OCD, who stated that same brand. So, if what you bought doesn't seem to do anything, try that brand. They said it helped a lot.

 

Although, I think SamE is more marketed towards women to avoid mood swings? I remember seeing a commercial for it. So, not sure what the bottle looks like. If it looks feminine, don't let your son see it:)

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I'd be interested to know if anyone has had good experience with NAC (N-acetyl-cystein)?. I'd give it a whirl for the ocd stuff, but the last time I gave my son NAC, he had a big increase in vocals and I've swore off it ever since, so really scared to try again. I might add tho, that I had given him NAC the previous summer for a couple months and did not note any increase of tics, so I didn't understand what happened this time. I could speculate it was a big old coincidence, but wierd that it was within a day of giving the capsule, and the increase was big. I wrote about it on the other board at the time. If I find the thread, I'll post it here. It may have been an initial reaction, but those of us who deal with tics don't usually like to take chances with something that causes increase.

 

Faith

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I haven't tried this supplement. I could post on other OCD boards if people saw an increase in behvaiors before it helped.

 

Right now, I'm thinking of something totally off topic, but when teens are given abx for acne, acne goes crazy and worsens for 3 months before it actually clears it up. It draws out all the bacteria. Perhaps, that concept may also be trues for something like this?

 

But, I agree, if you saw an increase in tics, it may not be worth riding it through to see how big a pay off you may get, if any.

 

Thanks for sharing your experience!

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Hi Vickie. You are absolutely right. I am actually on this site for my son's PANDAS, but wanted to comment on your post. I have mild tric since I was 12 years old (I am 43). 2 years ago I read an article about NAC and started taking it. I have been doing quite well on 1200 mg a day in conjunction with Prozac.

Heidi (M.A., CSW)

 

 

 

http://www.naturalnews.com/027769_hair_pul...mino_acids.html

 

 

 

Amino Acid N-Acetylcysteine Eases Compulsive Behavior Such as Hair Pulling

 

"A supplement of the amino acid N-acetylcysteine may ease the symptoms of compulsive hair pulling, according to a study conducted by researchers from the Minnesota School of Medicine and published in the Archives of General Psychiatry.

 

Hair-pulling, also known as trichotillomania, is a compulsive disorder that may affect as many as one in seven people at some point. Patients feel a compulsive urge to pull out the hair from their scalps, eyebrows or even eyelashes, sometimes creating bald spots. Some people who suffer from trichotillomania will play with or eat their hair after pulling it out.

 

Although similar to obsessive-compulsive disorder, trichotillomania is not the same condition and does not respond well to antidepressants or other drugs. The condition is not well understood, but the neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin are believed to play a role.

 

Researchers gave a number of trichotillomania patients a 1,200 mg supplement of N-acetylcysteine every day for six weeks. This dose was continued for another six weeks in patients who appeared to be responding, and doubled in patients who did not appear to be responding.

 

Fifty-six percent of patients treated with N-acetylcysteine demonstrated

"much or very much improved" symptoms, compared with only 16 percent of those treated with a placebo. There were no adverse side effects reported.

 

The amino acid treatment proved more effective than the success rate of drug treatments, and was on par with the effectiveness of behavioral therapy or a drug-therapy combination.

 

Researchers said that even if the amino acid treatment proves successful in further studies, behavioral therapy should still be used to try and treat the underlying psychological causes of hair pulling.

 

Previous studies haves suggested that N-acetylcysteine supplements may also be effective at treating symptoms of bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder and schizophrenia. They are also used to treat acetaminophen (Tylenol) overdoses and nasal mucus buildup.

 

The supplements are available over the counter and by prescription.

 

Sources for this story include: www.reuters.com"

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