The recognition and treatment of pathological skin picking: a potential neurobiological underpinning of the efficacy of pharmacotherapy in impulse control disorders

Psychiatry (Edgmont). 2009 Feb;6(2):38-42.

Abstract

Pathological skin picking is an impulse control disorder that causes significant anxiety and disfigurement to those afflicted. Standard therapy with a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor provides variable and often suboptimal responses. We report a case of pathological skin picking treated with paliperidone, a 5-HT2/D2 antagonist.

Keywords: impulse control disorders; neurobiology; pathological skin picking; selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors; serotonin 2/dopamine 2 receptor antagonists.

Publication types

  • Case Reports