Hair Pulling or Tricholtillomania Disorder May Find Relief With Over the Counter Antioxidant

If you suffer from hair pulling or Trichotillomania disorder, you may find relief in an over the counter antioxidant.

Trichotillomania is an irresistible urge to pull one’s own hair out. It affects over 2 million Americans over the age of 22.

A paper on the results of a small trial of hair pullers was published in the Archives of General Psychiatry this week. In the study of 50 hair pullers, more than half of those who took the over the counter antioxidant, N_acetylcysteine, showed improvement of symptoms after 12 weeks.

Signs of  hair pulling  include patchy bald areas on the scalp, sparse or missing eyelashes or eyebrows, and chewing or eating pulled out hair.

The antioxidant, N-acetylcysteine, is available in pill form at stores like GNC and Vitamin Shoppe.

As always check with your doctor first, but if you suffer from hair pulling or trichotillomania disorder, this over the counter antioxidant may be beneficial to you.

Antioxidant Ellagic Acid Prevents Wrinkles

Researchers say results of a two part study show that the antioxidant ellagic acid works to prevent wrinkle formation and photo-aging caused by UV destruction of collagen and Inflammatory response. Collagen destruction and inflammatory response are both major causes of wrinkles.

The antioxidant ellagic acid is found in many fruits, vegetables and nuts. Especially good are ellagic acid foods such as raspberries, strawberries, cranberries and pomegranates.

A topical application of the antioxidant ellagic acid was used in the study at Hallym University in the Republic of Korea. The study results were presented at the Experimental Biology 2009 meeting in New Orleans on April 21.

The study also showed that in addition to preventing wrinkles, the antioxidant ellagic acid also helps prevent epidermal thickness.