Trichotillomania, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, and methylphenidate − Is there a link?

Authors

  • Marta Antunes Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Centro Materno-Infantil do Norte, Centro Hospitalar Universitário de Santo António https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2726-9408
  • Inês Aguiar Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Centro Materno-Infantil do Norte, Centro Hospitalar Universitário de Santo António https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7526-0646

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25753/BirthGrowthMJ.v32.i1.25482

Keywords:

methylphenidate, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, psychostimulant, trichotillomania

Abstract

Introduction: Psychostimulants, especially methylphenidate (MPH), are established treatments for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children and adolescents. Their common side effects are well known, and, although trichotillomania (TTM) and obsessive-compulsive symptoms (OCS) are not formally listed among them, they are reported in the literature. This study describes a case of TTM and OCS associated with the use of MPH.
Clinical Case: A nine-year-old boy was referred to the Infant and Adolescence Psychiatry consultation due to obsessive thoughts and TTM. He presented to the first appointment already medicated with immediate-release MPH.
Discussion: The time span between MPH intake and the presentation of TTM and OCS, together with their resolution in the absence of MPH, raised clinical suspicion of an association between MPH and these conditions.
Conclusion: Although TTM and OCS can coexist with ADHD, it was not until MPH exposure that they were observed in the present case.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Coskun, M. Methyllphenidate Induced Obsessive- Compulsive Symptoms treated with Sertraline, Klinil Psikofarmakologi-Bulletin of Clinical Psychopharmacology. 2001; 21:3, 275-6.

Storebø OJ, Krogh HB, Ramstad E, Moreira-Maia CR, Holmskov M, Skoog M, et al. Methylphenidate for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in children and adolescents: Cochrane systematic review with meta-analyses and trial sequential analyses of randomised clinical trials. BMJ. 2015;351:h5203.

Kouris S. Methylphenidate-induced obsessive-compulsiveness J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 1998; 37(2):135.

Borcherding BG, Keysor CS, Rapoport JL, Elia J, Amass J. Motor/ vocal tics and compulsive behaviors on stimulant drugs: is there a common vulnerability? Psychiatry Res 1990;33(1):83-94.

Woolley JB, Heyman I. Dexamphetamine for obsessive-compulsive disorder. Am J Psychiatry 2003;160(1):183.

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition. Arlington, VA, American Psychiatric Association, 2013.

Abramovitch A, Dar R, Mittelman A, Wilhelm S. Comorbidity Between Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Across the Life span: A Systematic and Critical Review. Harv Rev Psychiatry. 2015; 23(4):245-62.

Borcherding BG, Keysor CS, Rapoport JL, Elia J, Amass J. Motor/vocal tics and compulsive behaviors on stimulant drugs: is there a common vulnerability? Psychiatry Res. 1990 Jul;33(1):83-94. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/0165-1781(90)90151-t.

Martin A, Scahill L, Vitulano L, King RA. Stimulant use and trichotillomania. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 1998; 37(4):349-50.

Gunes S. Modified-Release Methylphenidate-Related Trichotillomania in a Boy with Autism Spectrum Disorder. J Child Adolesc Psycopharmacol. 2017; 27(7):675-6.

Kara T, Akaltum I. Trichotillomania in Attention-Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder Under Methylphenidate Treatment. J Clin Psycopharmacol. 2017; 37(4):48.

Woods DW, Houghton DC. Diagnosis, evaluation, and management of trichotillomania. Psychiatr Clin North Am. 2014; 37:301–17.

American Psychiatric Association. DSM-5: Manual Diagnóstico y Estadístico de los Trastornos Mentales. 5a ed. Madrid: Panamericana; 2014.

Pourcher E, Rémillard S, Cohen H. Compulsive habits in restless legs syndrome patients under dopaminergic treatment. J Neurol Sci. 2010;290: 52–6.

Lepelletier FX, Tauber C, Nicolas C, et al. Prenatal exposure to methylphenidate affects the dopamine system and the reactivity to natural reward in adulthood in rats. Int J Neuropsychopharmacology. 2009; 57(7-8):640-52

Downloads

Published

2023-06-23

How to Cite

1.
Antunes M, Aguiar I. Trichotillomania, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, and methylphenidate − Is there a link?. REVNEC [Internet]. 2023Jun.23 [cited 2024Jul.17];32(1):38-40. Available from: https://revistas.rcaap.pt/nascercrescer/article/view/25482

Issue

Vol. 32 No. 1 (2023)

Section

Case Reports

License

Copyright (c) 2023 Marta Antunes, Inês Aguiar

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Copyright and access

This journal offers immediate free access to its content, following the principle that providing free scientific knowledge to the public provides greater global democratization of knowledge.
The works are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial 4.0 International license.
Nascer e Crescer – Birth and Growth Medical Journal do not charge any submission or processing fee to the articles submitted.

Most read articles by the same author(s)