Opiate sensitivity test in patients with stereotypic movement disorder and trichotillomania

Preliminary data about the therapeutic effect of opiate receptor manipulation in self-injurious behavior (SIB) suggest that endogenous opioid mechanisms may have a pathophysiological role in that condition and their involvement may be dependent on the severity of the SIB. The aim of this study was to use fentanyl-induced prolactin response as an opiate receptor sensitivity test in patients with stereotypic movement disorder (SMD) manifesting SIB (skin picking). Healthy volunteers and trichotillomanic patients were enrolled as comparison subjects. Individuals with trichotillomania (TTM) manifest repetitive, less serious self-mutilation (hair pulling) and are classified under different DSM-IV category than SMD. Therefore, they were considered as patient controls. Ten healthy subjects received 0.05 mg/70 kg and another 10 were given 0.1 mg/70 kg dose of fentanyl intravenously in the AM hours. Five of them had placebo trials. A dose of 0.05 mg/70 kg fentanyl was administered to patients with SMD (n = 10) and TTM (n = 12). Serial blood sampling was performed for prolactin measurements. Fentanyl elevated plasma prolactin in a dose-dependent manner. Patients with skin picking, but not with hair pulling, showed significantly increased responses. This finding supports the involvement of endogenous opioids in the pathomechanism of serious SIB.