Semaglutide for Trichotillomania Management
This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of Semaglutide in reducing the severity of trichotillomania symptoms in affected individuals.
Semaglutide
Anxiety Disorders+2
+ Mental Disorders
+ Disruptive, Impulse Control, and Conduct Disorders
Treatment Study
Summary
Study start date: February 1, 2026
Actual date on which the first participant was enrolled.This study aims to test the effectiveness and safety of a medication called semaglutide for people with trichotillomania, a condition where individuals feel the urge to pull out their hair. Currently, there are no available medications specifically approved to treat this disorder, so this research is important in finding new treatment options. The study hopes that semaglutide will help reduce the urge to pull hair and the actual hair-pulling behavior in participants. This could potentially bring relief to those dealing with this challenging condition by providing a new treatment method. Participants in the study will receive semaglutide once a week for eight weeks. The study involves 10 individuals, and it is structured as an open-label trial, meaning both the researchers and participants know what treatment is being given. The effectiveness of the treatment will be measured using the NIMH Trichotillomania Severity Scale, which rates the severity of symptoms. Higher scores on this scale indicate more severe symptoms, and the hope is that scores will decrease as treatment progresses. This study could pave the way for new approaches in managing not only trichotillomania but other similar compulsive behaviors as well.
Protocol
This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.10 patients to be enrolled
Total number of participants that the clinical trial aims to recruit.Treatment Study
Eligibility
Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria: person's general health condition or prior treatments.Any sex
Biological sex of participants that are eligible to enroll.From 18 to 75 Years
Range of ages for which participants are eligible to join.Healthy volunteers not allowed
If individuals who are healthy and do not have the condition being studied can participate.Conditions
Pathology
Criteria
Inclusion Criteria: 1. Men and women age 18-75; 2. Diagnosis of current trichotillomania based on DSM-5 criteria and confirmed using the clinician-administered MIDI (13); 3. Hair pulling daily with urges to pull as the trigger in \>50% of the episodes of pulling; 4. Women of childbearing age are required to have a negative result on a beta-human chorionic gonadotropin pregnancy test; 5. Women of childbearing potential utilizing a medically accepted form of contraception defined as double barrier, oral contraceptive, injectable contraceptive, implantable contraceptive devices, and abstinence Exclusion Criteria: 1. Infrequent pulling (i.e. less than daily) or automatic pulling (i.e. no urges to pull); 2. Unstable medical illness or clinically significant abnormalities on laboratory tests, EKG, or physical examination at screen as determined by the investigator; 3. History of seizures; 4. Myocardial infarction within 6 months; 5. Current pregnancy or lactation, or inadequate contraception in women of childbearing potential; 6. A need for medication other than semaglutide with possible psychotropic effects or unfavorable interactions as determined by the investigator; 7. Clinically significant suicidality (defined by the Columbia Suicide-Severity Rating Scale); 8. Lifetime history of bipolar disorder type I or II, schizophrenia, or any psychotic disorder; 9. Current skin picking disorder; 10. Initiation of psychotherapy or behavior therapy within 3 months prior to study baseline; 11. Initiation of psychotropic medications within 3 months prior to study baseline (stable doses will be allowed); 12. Previous treatment with semaglutide; 13. Use of any weight loss medications; 14. Body mass index (BMI, calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared) less than 23; 15. Past-year substance use disorder other than tobacco use disorder or mild cannabis use disorder; 16. Recent (30-day) use of illicit drugs except cannabis; 17. History of diabetes, and current medical or neurological illness precluding participation based on physician judgment; 18. Personal or family history of medullary thyroid cancer or multiple endocrine neoplasia 2A or 2B; 19. History of pancreatitis.
Study Plan
Find out more about all the medication administered in this study, their detailed description and what they involve.One single intervention group is designated in this study
This study does not include a placebo group
Treatment Groups
Group I
Experimental