Switching to aripiprazole in subjects with Pervasive Developmental Disorders showing tolerability issues with risperidone

• Published in: Progress in neuro-psychopharmacology & biological psychiatry Vol. 37; no. 1; pp. 128 - 131
• Main Authors: Ishitobi, Makoto, Hiratani, Michio, Kosaka, Hirotaka, Takahashi, Tetsuya, Mizuno, Tomoyuki, Asano, Mizuki, Murata, Tetsuhito, Tomoda, Akemi, Wada, Yuji
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Inc 27.04.2012
• Subjects: Adolescence; Adolescent; Age; Amenorrhea; Appetite; Aripiprazole; Behavioral symptoms; Child; Child Development Disorders, Pervasive - diagnosis; Child Development Disorders, Pervasive - drug therapy; Child Development Disorders, Pervasive - psychology; Children; Drug Substitution; Female; Humans; Hyperprolactinemia; Male; Neuroleptics; Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDD); Piperazines - adverse effects; Piperazines - therapeutic use; Quinolones - adverse effects; Quinolones - therapeutic use; Retrospective Studies; Risperidone; Risperidone - adverse effects; Risperidone - therapeutic use; Tolerability issues; Treatment Outcome; Young Adult; PDD; Tolerability issues; CGI; Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDD); Behavioral symptoms; Aripiprazole; Risperidone; DSM
• ISSN: 0278-5846; 1878-4216; 1878-4216
• DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2011.12.015

Subjects with Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDD) often exhibit behavioral symptoms such as aggressiveness and irritability, which are targets of psychopharmacologic intervention. This retrospective study was designed to examine children and adolescents with PDD experiencing tolerability issues with risperidone treatment, and thereby assess the efficacy and tolerability of switching to aripiprazole. This naturalistic study included 23 subjects with PDD (16 males, 7 females, age range 9–24years, mean age 15.1±3.9years) diagnosed according to DSM-IV criteria and followed up for 14.9±8.4weeks after switching to aripiprazole from risperidone. Outcome measures were the Clinical Global Impression-Severity (CGI-S) and CGI Improvement (CGI-I) scales. The mean CGI-S scores of pre-aripiprazole treatment and post-aripiprazole treatment were, respectively 4.7±1.4 and 4.6±1.3. Mean maintenance dosages of risperidone and aripiprazole were, respectively, 0.7±0.5mg/day and 2.8±1.3mg/day. The mean CGI-I score, which shows the difference induced by switching from risperidone to aripiprazole, was 3.4±0.8 for the whole sample, suggesting that the efficacy of risperidone for treating behavioral problems of PDD was maintained by aripiprazole. Some improvement of safety/tolerability issues such as increased appetite, somnolence, hyperprolactinemia, and amenorrhea occurred after switching to aripiprazole. Results show that switching to aripiprazole might be generally well tolerated and might constitute an alternative treatment for subjects with PDD who experience tolerability issues with risperidone treatment. Additional long-term controlled studies of PDD subjects should be undertaken to evaluate the efficacy and safety of switching to aripiprazole from other antipsychotics. ► Tolerability issues with risperidone was improved after switching to aripiprazole. ► Aripiprazole was as effective as risperidone in treating behavioral symptoms of PDD. ► This retrospective study assessed the efficacy of aripiprazole in PDD subjects.