Design and Subject Characteristics in the Federally-Funded Citalopram Trial in Children with Pervasive Developmental Disorders

• Published in: Journal of autism and developmental disorders Vol. 42; no. 3; pp. 432 - 440
• Main Authors: Scahill, Lawrence, McCracken, James T., Bearss, Karen, Robinson, Fay, Hollander, Eric, King, Bryan, Bregman, Joel, Sikich, Lin, Dukes, Kimberly, Sullivan, Lisa, Anagnostou, Evdokia, Donnelly, Craig, Kim, Young-Shin, Ritz, Louise, Hirtz, Deborah, Wagner, Ann
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Boston Springer US 01.03.2012; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adolescent; Age; Aggression; Antidepressants; Asperger Syndrome; Autism; Autistic children; Behavior Problems; Behavioral Science and Psychology; Biological and medical sciences; Child; Child and School Psychology; Child clinical studies; Child Development Disorders, Pervasive - drug therapy; Child Health; Children; Citalopram; Citalopram - therapeutic use; Clinical trials; Delayed Speech; Developmental Disabilities; Developmental disorders; Double-Blind Method; Drug Therapy; Female; Humans; Hyperactivity; Impressions; Infantile autism; Interpersonal Relationship; Literary Devices; Male; Medical sciences; Mental health; Mental Retardation; Networks; Neurodevelopmental disorders; Neurological disorders; Neuropharmacology; Neuropsychological Tests; Neurosciences; Original Paper; Outcomes of Treatment; Paediatrics; Pediatrics; Pervasive Developmental Disorders; Pharmaceutical industry; Pharmacology; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Psychoanaleptics: cns stimulant, antidepressant agent, nootropic agent, mood stabilizer; Psychoanaleptics: cns stimulant, antidepressant agent, nootropic agent, mood stabilizer..., (alzheimer disease); Psychology; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Psychopharmacology; Public Health; Repetitive behaviour; Research Design; Research Subjects; Sample Size; Self destructive behavior; Serotonin Uptake Inhibitors - therapeutic use; Severity (of Disability); Social interaction; Stroke; Treatment Outcome; Young Children; United States; New York; United States > US; Autism; Double-blind method; Serotonin reuptake inhibitors; Repetitive behavior; Citalopram; Human; Trial; Serotonin; Psychotropic; Developmental disorder; Reuptake inhibitor; Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor; Pervasive developmental disorder; Neurotransmitter; Double blind study; Antidepressant agent; Child
• ISSN: 0162-3257; 1573-3432; 1573-3432
• DOI: 10.1007/s10803-011-1251-8

The Studies to Advance Autism Research and Treatment Network conducted a randomized trial with citalopram in children with Pervasive developmental disorders (PDDs). We present the rationale, design and sample characteristics of the citalopram trial. Subjects (128 boys, 21 girls) had a mean age of 9.3 (±3.12) years; 132 (88.6%) were diagnosed with autistic disorder (4.7% with Asperger’s Disorder; 6.7% with PDD-not otherwise specified). Less than half of the subjects were intellectually disabled; 117 (78.5%) were rated Moderate or Marked on the Clinical Global Impression for Severity. Study measures were similar to previous Research Units on Pediatric Psychopharmacology trials. Subjects in this trial were slightly older and more likely to have complaints of repetitive behavior than participants in RUPP trials.