N-acetylcysteine effective for treating skin picking disorder: Study
N-acetylcysteine is useful in treating skin picking disorder, suggests a study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.
Skin picking disorder (SPD) is also called the Excoriation disorder. It is characterized by repetitive skin manipulation causing visible tissue damage and impairment in social functioning.
Individuals may pick at healthy skin, minor skin irregularities (e.g., pimples or calluses), lesions, or scabs. This condition is generally chronic in nature, occurring in time intervals, with periods of remission alternating with periods of greater symptom intensity. It is common for individuals with this disorder to spend significant amounts of time, sometimes even several hours a day, on this behavior.
None of the current treatment modalities provide a 100% cure rate. However, many studies have given evidence that bolsters the use of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) for skin picking disorder. While the greatest level of proof comes from a randomized control trial (RCT) with psychiatric endpoints evaluated by psychiatrists.
A study was conducted by a group of researchers U.S.A researchers, to reinstate the effectiveness of N-acetylcysteine for skin picking disorder.
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaad.2021.06.874
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