Topiramate for the treatment of Kleptomania: A case series and review of the literature

Kleptomania - the inability to resist the impulse to steal objects, not for personal use or monetary gain - is currently classified in psychiatric nomenclature as an impulse control disorder. There is no standard pharmacologic therapy for this disorder. If kleptomania was considered a form of obsessive-compulsive disorder, treatments used for this spectrum, including serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI), other antidepressants, opioid receptor antagonist medications, and mood stabilizers, could be logically tested. Topiramate is currently used for the treatment of patients with affective and compulsive eating disorders. This report documents three kleptomanic patients who responded well to topiramate given either alone or in combination with SSRIs.