Risperdal

[Guest guest]

Hi Dina. I am not sure if this individual or not, but my daughter was wiped

out on Risperdal for about a week. She did not go to school because she

literally had such a difficult time waking up, way beyond just tired. She also

had

this same experience when starting Seroquel. I will warn you that my daughter

had many panic attacks when starting Risperdal, for a few weeks while increasing

the dose. Her pdoc did say it might have been because we had taken Seroquel

away and maybe that was controlling the panic attacks, but the Risperdal dose

wasn't high enough to control them. Good luck, Kim

In a message dated 5/24/2006 3:28:09 PM Central Standard Time,

dina.n.jones@... writes:

I will

give it to her at night--will she be able to go to school tomorrow? I

know with the Zyprexa, she was out of it for a couple of days at

first. Just wondering what to expect. Thx!

Dina

[Guest guest]

So how long are you planning on using the Risperdal? I noticed you said to

get through school. Just wondering if you will be able to get to a high enough

dose to impact her before school is out. Will she stay on it after that? My

daughter was on Seroquel for 5 months, but it didn't work for her. She has been

on Risperdal for 8 months now with much better results, except for the weight

gain. Kim

In a message dated 5/24/2006 3:28:09 PM Central Standard Time,

dina.n.jones@... writes:

The pdoc called today and we are

adding Risperdal to the mix for the short term to get her through

school.

[Guest guest]

I don't know about risperdal, my son takes abilify. I was just

wondering if the Prozac could be titrated a little slower - 35mg then

40 in a week or two. Prozac adjustments were hard for my son.

Best wishes,

Bonnie

>

> Okay, so I've posted that my DD (11) has taken a backslide in the last

> 2 mos. and we are upping her Prozac from 30 to 40 mgs. Meanwhile, her

> anxiety has been worse and she's been having difficulty functioning,

> going to school, with friends, etc. The pdoc called today and we are

> adding Risperdal to the mix for the short term to get her through

> school. I hate to try a new drug with all this going on, I don't want

> her to totally miss out on the end of 5th grade, but she's not

> functioning well anyway. So, what is everyone's experience with this

> drug? She's starting her on .25 which i guess is a low dose. I will

> give it to her at night--will she be able to go to school tomorrow? I

> know with the Zyprexa, she was out of it for a couple of days at

> first. Just wondering what to expect. Thx!

>

> Dina

>

[Guest guest]

Dina,

Remember, every child is different, and most do respond well to Risperdal. My

daughter, on the other hand didn't. I gave her the lowest dose.25mg at bedtime.

She slept like a log, than the next morning woke up, shaking, could not sit

still, etc, etc,.She was drooling, and couldn't stop. After taking her to the

doctor, he said she had akathisia, and we had to discontinue the drug.

I don't want to scare you. Jessie has been on others,and did not have this

reaction.Just letting you know my experience

hugs

Judy

[Guest guest]

rnmomo2 wrote:

> I don't know about risperdal, my son takes abilify. I was just

> wondering if the Prozac could be titrated a little slower - 35mg then

> 40 in a week or two. Prozac adjustments were hard for my son.

>

> Best wishes,

> Bonnie

>

>

Thanks, Bonnie. I originally had her go up to only 35 for a week and her

pdoc said that it wasn't that sensitive of a drug and to up it to 40.

It does seem like the same reaction that we got when she went on it at

the beginning. Hmm. It's so hard to tell with these things.

Dina

[Guest guest]

mnmomof1@... wrote:

> Hi Dina. I am not sure if this individual or not, but my daughter was

> wiped

> out on Risperdal for about a week. She did not go to school because she

> literally had such a difficult time waking up, way beyond just tired.

> She also had

> this same experience when starting Seroquel. I will warn you that my

> daughter

> had many panic attacks when starting Risperdal, for a few weeks while

> increasing

> the dose. Her pdoc did say it might have been because we had taken

> Seroquel

> away and maybe that was controlling the panic attacks, but the

> Risperdal dose

> wasn't high enough to control them. Good luck, Kim

Oh great! We're adding it so she can FINISH the school year--not sleep

it away! Now I dont' know what to do.

Dina

[Guest guest]

mnmomof1@... wrote:

> Hi Dina. I am not sure if this individual or not, but my daughter was

> wiped

> out on Risperdal for about a week. She did not go to school because she

> literally had such a difficult time waking up, way beyond just tired.

> She also had

> this same experience when starting Seroquel. I will warn you that my

> daughter

> had many panic attacks when starting Risperdal, for a few weeks while

> increasing

> the dose. Her pdoc did say it might have been because we had taken

> Seroquel

> away and maybe that was controlling the panic attacks, but the

> Risperdal dose

> wasn't high enough to control them. Good luck, Kim

Oh great! We're adding it so she can FINISH the school year--not sleep

it away! Now I dont' know what to do.

Dina

[Guest guest]

My dd was on risperdal, I thnk only 25 mg and it really zoned her out.

She culd not focus on anything. It was like living with a zombie.

Needless to say she did not stay on it for long. Zoloft made her very

impulsive, but cleared all of her intrusive thoughts, making it much

easier to work on her the rituals with CBT. She is now on 20 mg prozac

and 80 lbs. doing well, no side effects.

cathy in MA

[Guest guest]

My son tried Seroquel and is now on Abilify. He was a little sleepy,

but was able to go to school. Is there a way to divide it in 2 give

some at bedtime and some in the morning?

Bonnie

> > Hi Dina. I am not sure if this individual or not, but my daughter

was

> > wiped

> > out on Risperdal for about a week. She did not go to school

because she

> > literally had such a difficult time waking up, way beyond just

tired.

> > She also had

> > this same experience when starting Seroquel. I will warn you that

my

> > daughter

> > had many panic attacks when starting Risperdal, for a few weeks

while

> > increasing

> > the dose. Her pdoc did say it might have been because we had

taken

> > Seroquel

> > away and maybe that was controlling the panic attacks, but the

> > Risperdal dose

> > wasn't high enough to control them. Good luck, Kim

> Oh great! We're adding it so she can FINISH the school year--not

sleep

> it away! Now I dont' know what to do.

>

> Dina

>

[Guest guest]

My son tried Seroquel and is now on Abilify. He was a little sleepy,

but was able to go to school. Is there a way to divide it in 2 give

some at bedtime and some in the morning?

Bonnie

> > Hi Dina. I am not sure if this individual or not, but my daughter

was

> > wiped

> > out on Risperdal for about a week. She did not go to school

because she

> > literally had such a difficult time waking up, way beyond just

tired.

> > She also had

> > this same experience when starting Seroquel. I will warn you that

my

> > daughter

> > had many panic attacks when starting Risperdal, for a few weeks

while

> > increasing

> > the dose. Her pdoc did say it might have been because we had

taken

> > Seroquel

> > away and maybe that was controlling the panic attacks, but the

> > Risperdal dose

> > wasn't high enough to control them. Good luck, Kim

> Oh great! We're adding it so she can FINISH the school year--not

sleep

> it away! Now I dont' know what to do.

>

> Dina

>

[Guest guest]

My 10 y.o. (80 pounds) started on 25 mg. of risperdal (in addition to 20 mg.

prozac and .25 trazadone) when she was having a really hard time with

obsessive thoughts. It was a wonder drug for us! Within 2 days she told me

that

her thoughts weren't getting stuck any more. A side benefit is that it

reduces stuttering (and my 10 y.o. stutters). We've had no trouble with weight

gain.

My 13 y.o. is on Seroquel (200 mg.) At 50 mg. there was no weight gain, but

as we've ramped up the dosage we've noticed about a 15 pound increase. She

becomes RAVENOUS within a 1/2 hour of her med.

Suzanne Stone

in CA

[Guest guest]

My 10 y.o. (80 pounds) started on 25 mg. of risperdal (in addition to 20 mg.

prozac and .25 trazadone) when she was having a really hard time with

obsessive thoughts. It was a wonder drug for us! Within 2 days she told me

that

her thoughts weren't getting stuck any more. A side benefit is that it

reduces stuttering (and my 10 y.o. stutters). We've had no trouble with weight

gain.

My 13 y.o. is on Seroquel (200 mg.) At 50 mg. there was no weight gain, but

as we've ramped up the dosage we've noticed about a 15 pound increase. She

becomes RAVENOUS within a 1/2 hour of her med.

Suzanne Stone

in CA

[Guest guest]

suzstone@... wrote:

> My 10 y.o. (80 pounds) started on 25 mg. of risperdal

Do you mean .25? (Notice the decimal)? My DD was prescribed .25 to

ramp up to .5

Thanks,

Dina

[Guest guest]

suzstone@... wrote:

> My 10 y.o. (80 pounds) started on 25 mg. of risperdal

Do you mean .25? (Notice the decimal)? My DD was prescribed .25 to

ramp up to .5

Thanks,

Dina

[Guest guest]

Thanks, everyone, for your advice on the Risperdal. Mikayla did okay on

Thursday and Friday, so I thought we'd hold off. Last night she was

basically non-functional, crying, anxious, etc. so we started. I

couldn't tell anything last night or this morning, but she only took .25

mgs. We'll go up to .5 in a couple of days. Wish us luck. It's so

hard for me to give her these antipsychotics because of all the bad side

effects. But, we did a family outing last night that she was looking

forward to. She wanted to spend some of her bday money at the Bath

shop, the earring place, etc. Every 11 yr. old girl's dream place. She

was so anxious that she couldn't eat, nor shop. She just wanted to

leave. Then we went to a hotel and she is a little fish, but was too

anxious to swim and just wanted to go to the room and go to sleep to

make the thoughts go away. So, the alternative to the drugs is not a

pleasant life either. We just do the best we can.

Dina

[Guest guest]

Thanks, everyone, for your advice on the Risperdal. Mikayla did okay on

Thursday and Friday, so I thought we'd hold off. Last night she was

basically non-functional, crying, anxious, etc. so we started. I

couldn't tell anything last night or this morning, but she only took .25

mgs. We'll go up to .5 in a couple of days. Wish us luck. It's so

hard for me to give her these antipsychotics because of all the bad side

effects. But, we did a family outing last night that she was looking

forward to. She wanted to spend some of her bday money at the Bath

shop, the earring place, etc. Every 11 yr. old girl's dream place. She

was so anxious that she couldn't eat, nor shop. She just wanted to

leave. Then we went to a hotel and she is a little fish, but was too

anxious to swim and just wanted to go to the room and go to sleep to

make the thoughts go away. So, the alternative to the drugs is not a

pleasant life either. We just do the best we can.

Dina

[Guest guest]

Dina,

I'm so sorry your going through such a rough time right now.!!!!(((Hugs))))

I know how heartbreaking it is to see this horrible illness rob your child of

having fun!

Hang in there!

Hugs

Judy

[Guest guest]

Dina,

I'm so sorry your going through such a rough time right now.!!!!(((Hugs))))

I know how heartbreaking it is to see this horrible illness rob your child of

having fun!

Hang in there!

Hugs

Judy

[Guest guest]

Hi everyone,

My dd was put on risperdal last year and had a bad response to it.(

akathisia)We had to discontinue it the next day, so I have no experience with

it. My ds( 4 yrs old) doctor just prescribed it for him. Do any of you have any

experience with it for a young child? He's still on the prozac also.

Any info would be great

Thanks

Judy

[Guest guest]

Judy,

What is akathisia? My 9 year old had blury vision from

risperdal.

Darletta

--- jchabot <jchabot@...> wrote:

>

>

> Hi everyone,

> My dd was put on risperdal last year and had a bad

> response to it.( akathisia)We had to discontinue it

> the next day, so I have no experience with it. My

> ds( 4 yrs old) doctor just prescribed it for him. Do

> any of you have any experience with it for a young

> child? He's still on the prozac also.

> Any info would be great

> Thanks

> Judy

>

>

> [Non-text portions of this message have been

> removed]

>

>

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

Darletta,

I may have spelled it wrong, but it's a condition where you cannot sit still

for a second.I've read it's one of the worst feelings you could ever have. Your

body just cannot stop moving. My dd was freaking out with it, and kept moving

around. It was really scary.

Hugs

Judy

[Guest guest]

In Norway it is not recommended to patients <18 years. According to the marketing firm Janssen Cilag, it has not been tried for patients below <18.

Long term use is making Basal ganglia growth, and stopping using it gives abstinence problems...

What else have been tried ??

Magnesium ??

Pyridoxine ??

Taurine ?

GABA ??

Geir FLatabø

On 8/10/06, Mandy <Mandy_Roemer@...> wrote:

My 4 year old son had infantile spasms for 4 years (due to vaccin). He has been seizure free and has a normal EEG for 10 weeks now due to hydrocortison. But he has got severe agressive behaviour and it looks he has got a combination of ADHD and Autism. His neuro wants to give him a small dosis of risperdal (0,25 mg).

Any positive experience on this drug?

I read the results on the internet and to me it looks like a scary med.

Mandy

[Guest guest]

Hi Mandy,

A few years ago we had a go with this drug out of desperation due to

aggressive behaviours. It did work for this in our case, mainly IMHO

because as well as being an anti-pyscotic it is also a major

tranquilliser. But we found the effect wore off over time as our

child got used to having the drug in his system. Then what do you

do? increase the dose!!! we were not happy to go there considering

the significant side- effects associated with it.

To be fair the only side-effect we encountered was constipation, but

as we had that anyway we did not want to give anything that made it

worse!!!

Nowadays if this problem was to happen again i would consider other

things to resolve it. This sort of behaviour with us can mean

bacterial overgrowth, also nutritional deficiencies or pain

somewhere and if this was the case and you gave respiridone instead

it could be surpressing symptoms of something that needs treating eg

toothache.

Has your child always been like this or has it just emerged due to

the recent treatment for seizures? (pleased to hear this has been

effective) Perhaps, if you feel able to give us some more

information someone here might be able to pin-point more accurately

where the problem might lie. eg - How are his bowels and gut, have

you had any testing done on him?

hth, Nikki

>

> Autism Biomedical EuropeMy 4 year old son had infantile spasms for

4 years (due to vaccin). He has been seizure free and has a normal

EEG for 10 weeks now due to hydrocortison. But he has got severe

agressive behaviour and it looks he has got a combination of ADHD

and Autism. His neuro wants to give him a small dosis of risperdal

(0,25 mg).

>

> Any positive experience on this drug?

>

> I read the results on the internet and to me it looks like a scary

med.

>

> Mandy

>

[Guest guest]

These are quotes from America. I

wouldn't touch it.

"One of my patients curled into a fetal position and had both eyes shut

tightly for many weeks--we were lucky to get him out of it with massive

doses of other meds. That experience was beyond frightening!

I agree with you that even though

it is so tempting to use Resperdal--please spread the word to be very

careful with the tardive dyskinesia and the dystonia--it can start with

the patient just squinting once in awhile or holding his or her leg up

in a stork like fashion.

As you mentioned, the tardive

dyskinesia can be permanent even after the med has been removed.

Zyprexa has similar therapeutic

effects with a lower incidence of Tardive dyskinesia. It does to give

the child the euphoria that Resperdal gives but is worth trying first

as opposed to Resperdal"

"I have know about

that

Respirdal caused

one of my adult patients to lose nerve function and have smacking mouth

motions her whole life. It cant be fixed

Geoffrey P. Radoff, M.D. M.D.H

its called Tardive Dyskenesia. Its in the PDR under

Respirdal side effects. Its rare but tell that to my patient"

Mandy wrote:

Does any of you use risperdal for

behaviour problems, adhd? Our neuro prescribed this but I am kind of

affraid to use it. Is it save? Side effects?

Does it have negative or positive

influance on mental development or speech?

I just do not know what to do.

Mandy - mom to Kees (4,5). Will

start chelation under a professional finally at the end of december !!!

[Guest guest]

Hi Mandy, what a coincidence as I was just gathering some pubmed info

on it this morning (as you do ) , so here are some bits that might

be of help. you can always go to pubmed and type in r. and side effects

and/or safety as keywords and see what else comes up:

Natasa

Dopamine D2/5-HT2A antagonist risperidone

J Child Adolesc Psychopharmacol. 2006 Oct;16(5):575-87. Related Articles, Links

Click here to read

Risperidone in preschool children with autistic spectrum disorders: an investigation of safety and efficacy.

Luby J, Mrakotsky C, Stalets MM, Belden A, Heffelfinger A, M, Spitznagel E.

Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri.

Introduction: Early intervention in autism spectrum

disorders (ASDs) appears promising and may represent a window of

opportunity for more effective treatment. Whereas the safety and

efficacy of risperidone have been established for children aged 5 and

older, they has not been adequately tested in preschool children.

Methods: A randomized placebo-controlled study of risperidone in

preschool children was conducted in a sample of young children, most of

whom were also undergoing intensive behavioral treatment. Results:

Preschool children tolerated low-dose risperidone well with no serious

adverse effects observed over a 6-month treatment period. Weight gain

and hypersalivation were the most common side effects reported, and

hyperprolactinemia without lactation or related signs was observed.

Significant differences between groups found at baseline complicated

the analyses; however, controlling for some of these differences

revealed that preschoolers on risperidone demonstrated greater

improvements in autism severity. The change in autism severity scores

from baseline to 6-month follow up for the risperidone group was 8%

compared to 3% for the placebo group. Notably, both groups

significantly improved over the 6-month treatment period. Conclusions:

Study findings suggest that risperidone is well tolerated in

preschoolers over a 6-month period, but that only minimally greater

improvement in target symptoms was evident in the risperidone group,

possibly due to the differences between groups at baseline or due to

the small sample size. Although these findings are not sufficient to

direct treatment, they suggest that larger-scale, double-blind,

placebo-controlled investigations of risperidone in preschoolers with

ASDs should now be conducted.

PMID: 17069546 [PubMed - in process]

2: J Autism Dev Disord. 2006 Oct 4; [Epub ahead of print] Related Articles, Links

Click here to read

Risperidone Improves Behavioral Symptoms in Children

with Autism in a Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial.

Pandina GJ, Bossie CA, Youssef E, Zhu Y, Dunbar F.

Medical Affairs, Janssen Pharmaceutica, Inc., Titusville, NJ, USA.

Subgroup analysis of children (5-12 years) with

autism enrolled in an 8-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of

risperidone for pervasive developmental disorders. The primary efficacy

measure was the Aberrant Behavior Checklist-Irritability (ABC-I)

subscale. Data were available for 55 children given risperidone (n =

27) or placebo (n = 28); mean baseline ABC-I ( +/- SD) was 20.6 (8.1)

and 21.6 (10.2). Risperidone [mean dose ( +/- SD): 1.37 mg/day (0.7)]

resulted in significantly greater reduction from baseline to endpoint

in ABC-I versus placebo [mean change ( +/- SD): -13.4 (1.5) vs. -7.2

(1.4), P < 0.05; ES = -0.7]. The most common adverse effect with

risperidone was somnolence (74% vs. 7% with placebo). Risperidone

treatment was well tolerated and significantly improved behavioral

problems associated with autism.

PMID: 17019624 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

3: Biol Psychiatry. 2006 May 25; [Epub ahead of print] Related Articles, Links

Click here to read

Effects of Short- and Long-Term Risperidone Treatment on Prolactin Levels in Children with Autism.

GM, Scahill L, McCracken JT, McDougle CJ,

Aman MG, Tierney E, Arnold LE, A, Katsovich L, Posey DJ, Shah B,

Vitiello B.

Child Study Center (GMA, LS, AM, LK), Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut.

BACKGROUND: The effects of short- and long-term

risperidone treatment on serum prolactin were assessed in children and

adolescents with autism. METHODS: Patients with autism (N = 101, 5-17

years of age) were randomized to an 8-week trial of risperidone or

placebo and 63 then took part in a 4-month open-label follow-up phase.

Serum samples were obtained at Baseline and Week-8 (N = 78), and at

6-month (N = 43) and 22-month (N = 30) follow-up. Serum prolactin was

determined by immunoradiometric assay; dopamine type-2 receptor (DRD2)

polymorphisms were genotyped. RESULTS: Baseline prolactin levels were

similar in the risperidone (N = 42) and placebo (N = 36) groups (9.3

+/- 7.5 and 9.3 +/- 7.6 ng/ml, respectively). After 8 weeks of

risperidone, prolactin increased to 39.0 +/- 19.2 ng/ml, compared with

10.1 +/- 8.8 ng/ml for placebo (p < .0001). Prolactin levels were

also significantly increased at 6 months (32.4 +/- 17.8 ng/ml; N = 43,

p < .0001) and at 22 months (N = 30, 25.3 +/- 15.6 ng/ml, p <

..0001). Prolactin levels were not associated with adverse effects and

DRD2 alleles (Taq1A, -141C Ins/Del, C957T) did not significantly

influence baseline levels or risperidone-induced increases in

prolactin. CONCLUSIONS: Risperidone treatment was associated with

two- to four-fold mean increases in serum prolactin in children with

autism. Although risperidone-induced increases tended to diminish with

time, further research on the consequences of long-term prolactin

elevations in children and adolescents is needed.

PMID: 16730335 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

4: Ann Pharmacother. 2006 May;40(5):909-16. Epub 2006 Mar 7. Related Articles, Links

Click here to read

Role of risperidone in children with autism spectrum disorder.

Chavez B, Chavez-Brown M, Rey JA.

Ernest School of Pharmacy, Rutgers, The State

University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ 08854-8020, USA.

bchavez@...

OBJECTIVE: To review the clinical trials

investigating the efficacy and safety of risperidone in the treatment

of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). DATA SOURCES: Searches

of MEDLINE/PubMed (1992-February 2006) were conducted, as well as an

extensive manual review of journals, using the key words autism and

risperidone. STUDY SELECTION AND DATA EXTRACTION: Only double-blind,

placebo-controlled trials were included for review. DATA SYNTHESIS: ASD

is the most common of the pervasive developmental disorders. The main

characteristics (core symptoms) of autism are impairment in social

skills, problems communicating, and stereotypical movements. Behavioral

manifestations or maladaptive behaviors include aggression,

irritability, hyperactivity, inattention, impulsivity, tantrums, and

self-injurious behavior. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the data examined,

risperidone appears efficacious and safe for treating certain

behavioral aspects of autism including irritability, aggression,

hyperactivity, and stereotypy. It does not appear to be as effective

for the treatment of the core symptoms of autism.

Publication Types:

* Review

PMID: 16684811 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

5: Prescrire Int. 2006 Apr;15(82):43-5. Related Articles, Links

Risperidone: new indication. Behavioural disorders

in children with autism or mental disabilities: no progress.

[No authors listed]

(1) Sedative drugs are one option when autistic or

mentally disabled children have behavioural disorders that place them

(or other people) in physical danger. Among the classic neuroleptics,

haloperidol is the drug with the best-documented efficacy and safety.

Placebo-controlled trials have also shown lithium to be effective for

this use. (2) Clinical evaluation of risperidone in children with

mental disabilities includes 3 placebo-controlled double-blind trials,

2 of which involved 118 and 110 children aged from 5 to 12 years who

were treated for 6 weeks. All 3 trials showed a partial behavioural

improvement in about 75% of children receiving risperidone, versus

about 30% of children in the placebo groups. (3) Clinical evaluation of

risperidone in autistic children includes 2 placebo-controlled

double-blind trials involving 110 and 79 children who were treated for

8 weeks. One of these studies has been published in detail: 69% of

children partially improved with risperidone, versus 12% of the

children on placebo. (4) Given the absence of clinical trials comparing

risperidone with haloperidol or lithium, there is no evidence that

risperidone is more effective than these other treatments. (5) The

principal adverse events observed in short-term trials of risperidone

were drowsiness (affecting about 50% of children), weight gain (about

1.2 kg per month during the first months of treatment), and

hyperprolactinaemia (affecting about 12% of children).

Extrapyramidal disorders were infrequent during short-term trials, but

their incidence reached about 25% after a year of risperidone

treatment. (6) The impact of long-term risperidone therapy on growth

and mental development is not known. (7) In France treatment is about 7

times more expensive with risperidone than with haloperidol. (8) In

practice, the risk-benefit balance of risperidone in the treatment of

autistic or mentally disabled children with behavioural disorders is no

better overall than that of older products such as haloperidol and

lithium, which, in the absence of anything better, remain the standard

drugs.

PMID: 16602211 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

6: J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2006 Apr;45(4):431-9. Related Articles, Links

Click here to read

Risperidone and adaptive behavior in children with autism.

SK, Scahill L, Vitiello B, Aman MG, Arnold

LE, McDougle CJ, McCracken JT, Tierney E, Ritz L, Posey DJ, Swiezy NB,

Hollway J, Cronin P, Ghuman J, Wheeler C, Cicchetti D, Sparrow S.

Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520-7900, USA.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of risperidone on

adaptive behavior in children with autistic disorder who have serious

behavior problems and to examine different methods of scoring the

Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales to measure change. METHOD:

Forty-eight children (5 years to 16 years, 5 months) who showed

behavioral improvement during acute treatment with risperidone were

followed for 6 months and assessed with the Vineland Scales. RESULTS:

Raw scores, age-equivalents, and special norm percentile scores all

showed significant increases in adaptive behavior in the areas of

communication, daily living skills, and socialization (p <.01).

During a period of 6 to 8 months, children gained an average of 7.8

age-equivalent months in the area of socialization, a > 6%

improvement beyond what would be expected based on baseline growth

rates. CONCLUSIONS: Although limited by the absence of a control group,

these results suggest that risperidone may improve adaptive skills in

children with autistic disorder accompanied by serious behavioral

problems. Vineland age-equivalent scores appear to be most useful in

assessing change with treatment over time.

Publication Types:

* Randomized Controlled Trial

PMID: 16601648 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

7: Ann Pharmacother. 2006 Mar 6; [Epub ahead of print] Related Articles, Links

Click here to read

Role of Risperidone in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (May).

Chavez B, Chavez-Brown M, Rey JA.

Ernest School of Pharmacy, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ.

OBJECTIVE: To review the clinical trials

investigating the efficacy and safety of risperidone in the treatment

of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). DATA SOURCES: Searches

of MEDLINE/PubMed (1992-February 2006) were conducted, as well as an

extensive manual review of journals, using the key words autism and

risperidone. STUDY SELECTION AND DATA EXTRACTION: Only double-blind,

placebo-controlled trials were included for review. DATA SYNTHESIS: ASD

is the most common of the pervasive developmental disorders. The main

characteristics (core symptoms) of autism are impairment in social

skills, problems communicating, and stereotypical movements. Behavioral

manifestations or maladaptive behaviors include aggression,

irritability, hyperactivity, inattention, impulsivity, tantrums, and

self-injurious behavior. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the data examined,

risperidone appears efficacious and safe for treating certain

behavioral aspects of autism including irritability, aggression,

hyperactivity, and stereotypy. It does not appear to be as effective

for the treatment of the core symptoms of autism.

PMID: 16520395 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

8: J Child Adolesc Psychopharmacol. 2005 Dec;15(6):869-84. Related Articles, Links

Click here to read

Acute and long-term safety and tolerability of risperidone in children with autism.

Aman MG, Arnold LE, McDougle CJ, Vitiello B, Scahill

L, Davies M, McCracken JT, Tierney E, Nash PL, Posey DJ, Chuang S,

A, Shah B, NM, Swiezy NB, Ritz L, Koenig K, McGough J,

Ghuman JK, RL.

The Nisonger Center, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210-1296, USA. aman.1@...

Treatment-emergent adverse events (AEs) were

monitored during an 8-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of

risperidone (0.5-3.5 mg/day) in 101 children and adolescents with a

lifetime diagnosis of autistic disorder. In addition, 37 placebo

nonresponders received open-label risperidone for another 8 weeks. Of

all the risperidone responders (n=65), 63 entered an open extension of

another 16 weeks (6 months total risperidone exposure), and 32 of them

were rerandomized to either continued risperidone therapy (n=16) or

gradual replacement with placebo (n=16) over 8 weeks. We collected the

following measures of safety and tolerability: (1) laboratory blood

assessments (CBC with differential, electrolytes, and liver function

tests) and urinalyses, (2) vital signs, (3) Side Effects Review of AEs

thought to be associated with risperidone, (4) sleep records, (5)

Simpson Angus Neurological Rating Scale (SARS), (6) Abnormal

Involuntary Movement Scale (AIMS), and (7) height and weight. No

clinically significant changes were found on the lab tests. During the

8-week acute trial, the most common AEs on the Side Effects Review,

scored as moderate or higher, were as follows (placebo and risperidone,

respectively): Somnolence (12% and 37%), enuresis (29% and 33%),

excessive appetite (10% and 33%), rhinitis (8% and 16%), difficulty

waking (8% and 12%), and constipation (12% and 10%). "Difficulty

falling asleep" and anxiety actually favored the risperidone condition

at statistically significant levels. The same AEs tended to recur

through 6 months of treatment, although often at reduced levels. Using

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) standardized scores, both weight and

body mass index (BMI) increased with risperidone during the acute trial

(0.5 and 0.6 SDs, respectively, for risperidone; 0.0 and 0.1 SDs,

respectively, for placebo) and into open-label extension (0.19 and 0.16

SDs, respectively), although the amount of gain decelerated with time.

Extrapyramidal symptoms, as assessed by the SARS, were no more common

for drug than placebo, although drooling was reported more often in the

risperidone group. There were no differences between groups on the

AIMS. Two subjects had seizures (one taking placebo), but these were

considered unrelated to active drug. Most AEs were mild to moderate and

failed to interfere with therapeutic changes; there were no

unanticipated AEs. The side effects of most concern were somnolence and weight gain.

Publication Types:

* Randomized Controlled Trial

PMID: 16379507 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

>>

Does any of you use risperdal for behaviour problems, adhd? Our neuro

prescribed this but I am kind of affraid to use it. Is it save? Side

effects?> > Does it have negative or positive influance on mental development or speech?> > I just do not know what to do.> > Mandy - mom to Kees (4,5). Will start chelation under a professional finally at the end of december !!!>