Treatment methodology is informed by the presence of comorbid conditions. Medication
In the case of pathological gambling, along with fluvoxamine, clomipramine has been shown effective in the treatment, with reducing the problems of pathological gambling in a subject by up to 90%. Whereas in trichotillomania, the use of clomipramine has again been found to be effective, fluoxetine has not produced consistent positive results. Fluoxetine, however, has produced positive results in the treatment of pathological skin picking disorder, although more research is needed to conclude this information. Fluoxetine has also been evaluated in treating IED and demonstrated significant improvement in reducing frequency and severity of impulsive aggression and irritability in a sample of 100 subjects who were randomized into a 14-week, double-blind study. Despite a large decrease in impulsive aggression behavior from baseline, only 44% of fluoxetine responders and 29% of all fluoxetine subjects were considered to be in full remission at the end of the study. Paroxetine has shown to be somewhat effective although the results are inconsistent. Another medication, escitalopram, has shown to improve the condition of the subjects of pathological gambling with anxiety symptoms. The results suggest that although SSRIs have shown positive results in the treatment of pathological gambling, inconsistent results with the use of SSRIs have been obtained which might suggest a neurological heterogeneity in the impulse-control disorder spectrum. Psychosocial
The psychosocial approach to the treatment of ICDs includes cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) which has been reported to have positive results in the case of treatment of pathological gambling and sexual addiction.
However, research conducted in the early 1990s in the United States gave prevalence estimates between 5–6% in the U.S. population, with male cases being higher than female. Internet addiction
The disorder of Internet addiction has only recently been taken into consideration and has been added as a form of ICD. It is characterized by excessive and damaging usage of Internet with increased amount of time spent chatting, web surfing, gambling, shopping or consuming pornography. Excessive and problematic Internet use has been reported across all age, social, economic, and educational ranges. Although initially thought to occur mostly in males, increasing rates have been also observed in females. However, no epidemiological study has been conducted yet to understand its prevalence. Compulsive shopping
Compulsive shopping or buying is characterized by a frequent irresistible urge to shop even if the purchases are not needed or cannot be afforded. The prevalence of compulsive buying in the U.S. has been estimated to be 2–8% of the general adult population, with 80–95% of these cases being females. The onset is believed to occur in late teens or early twenties and the disorder is considered to be generally chronic. Pyromania
Pyromania is characterized by impulsive and repetitive urges to deliberately start fires. Because of its nature, the number of studies performed for fire-setting are understandably limited. However, studies done on children and adolescents with pyromania have reported its prevalence to be between 2.4 and 3.5% in the United States.