BACKGROUND A randomized controlled trial examining the efficacy of behavior therapy for pediatric trichotillomania was recently completed with 24 participants ranging in age from 7 - 17. The broad age range raised a question about whether young children, older children, and adolescents would respond similarly to intervention. In particular, it is unclear whether the younger children have the co...

Trichotillomania is a relatively common cause of childhood alopecia. We report our observations of 10 children with trichotillomania seen over a 2-year period at Texas Children's Hospital. Patient ages ranged from 9 to 14 years (mean: 11.3 years) with an equal gender ratio. The duration of hair-pulling ranged from 1 month to 10 years (median: 4.6 months). The scalp alone was affected in 8 cases...

A six-year-old girl was referred to our child psychiatry outpatient clinic by the Pediatric Neurology Unit with a diagnosis of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and trichotillomania. She had neither eyebrows nor eyelashes. The clinical picture was of irritability, frequent tantrums, and aggressive behaviour. During the following year she presented several brief episodes of intense...

Trichobezoars are impactions of swallowed hairs in the stomach and occasionally in the intestine. They occur in emotionally disturbed, depressed, or mentally retarded patients who have trichotillomania and trichophagia. Removal of gastric trichobezoar by open surgery (gastrotomy) is a standard approach. Psychiatric follow-up is needed to diminish the recurrence of trichotillomania and trichopha...