[Pharmacological treatment of kleptomania--review]

According to most diagnostic manuals such as ICD-10 and DSM-IV, kleptomania is classified as an impulse-control disorder. With regard to comorbidity, kleptomania is related to the obsessive- compulsive disorder spectrum and to the broader spectrum of affective disorders. Accordingly a psychopharmacological intervention with anti-depressant drugs or mood stabilizers may be possible, even though there are to date no known results from controlled therapy studies. Nevertheless the successful administration of such medication has been reported in several cases. Assuming a disturbed central serotonin reuptake, the use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) seems to be indicated. But also naltrexone could be of use in kleptomania.