Emerging role of aripiprazole for treatment of irritability associated with autistic disorder in children and adolescents

Autistic disorder is a largely misunderstood and difficult to treat neurodevelopmental disorder. Three core domains of functioning are affected by autistic disorder, ie, socialization, communication, and behavior. Signs of autistic disorder may be present early, but are frequently overlooked, result...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors:	Stachnik, Joan, Gabay, Michael
Format:	Online
Language:	English
Published:	Dove Medical Press 2010
Online Access:	https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3915889/

id	pubmed-3915889
recordtype	oai_dc
spelling	pubmed-39158892014-03-05 Emerging role of aripiprazole for treatment of irritability associated with autistic disorder in children and adolescents Stachnik, Joan Gabay, Michael Review Autistic disorder is a largely misunderstood and difficult to treat neurodevelopmental disorder. Three core domains of functioning are affected by autistic disorder, ie, socialization, communication, and behavior. Signs of autistic disorder may be present early, but are frequently overlooked, resulting in a delay in its diagnosis and a subsequent delay in treatment. No one definitive therapy is available, and treatment consists of early educational and behavioral interventions, as well as drug therapy. Atypical antipsychotics have often been used in the treatment of autistic disorder to target irritability, aggression, and self-injurious behavior, all of which can interfere with other aspects of treatment. One atypical antipsychotic, aripiprazole, has recently been approved for treatment of irritability associated with autistic disorder. Based on the results from two randomized, controlled trials, with efficacy data from nearly 300 patients, treatment with aripiprazole was associated with reductions in irritability, global improvements in behavior, and improvements in quality of life from both the patient and caregiver perspectives. Dosage of aripiprazole ranged from 5 mg to 15 mg per day. Aripiprazole was well tolerated during clinical trials, with most adverse events considered mild or moderate. Clinically relevant weight gain occurred in about 30% of patients given aripiprazole, although when compared with other atypical antipsychotics, aripiprazole appears to have fewer metabolic effects and a lower risk of weight gain. However, pediatric patients taking any atypical antipsychotic should be carefully monitored for potential adverse events, because the long-term effects of antipsychotic therapy in this population are not well known. When used appropriately, aripiprazole has the potential to be an effective treatment for children with autistic disorder to improve irritability and aggressive behavior and improve quality of life. Dove Medical Press 2010-09-15 /pmc/articles/PMC3915889/ /pubmed/24600266 http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/AHMT.S9819 Text en © 2010 Stachnik and Gabay, publisher and licensee Dove Medical Press Ltd This is an Open Access article which permits unrestricted noncommercial use, provided the original work is properly cited.
repository_type	Open Access Journal
institution_category	Foreign Institution
institution	US National Center for Biotechnology Information
building	NCBI PubMed
collection	Online Access
language	English
format	Online
author	Stachnik, Joan Gabay, Michael
spellingShingle	Stachnik, Joan Gabay, Michael Emerging role of aripiprazole for treatment of irritability associated with autistic disorder in children and adolescents
author_facet	Stachnik, Joan Gabay, Michael
author_sort	Stachnik, Joan
title	Emerging role of aripiprazole for treatment of irritability associated with autistic disorder in children and adolescents
title_short	Emerging role of aripiprazole for treatment of irritability associated with autistic disorder in children and adolescents
title_full	Emerging role of aripiprazole for treatment of irritability associated with autistic disorder in children and adolescents
title_fullStr	Emerging role of aripiprazole for treatment of irritability associated with autistic disorder in children and adolescents
title_full_unstemmed	Emerging role of aripiprazole for treatment of irritability associated with autistic disorder in children and adolescents
title_sort	emerging role of aripiprazole for treatment of irritability associated with autistic disorder in children and adolescents
description	Autistic disorder is a largely misunderstood and difficult to treat neurodevelopmental disorder. Three core domains of functioning are affected by autistic disorder, ie, socialization, communication, and behavior. Signs of autistic disorder may be present early, but are frequently overlooked, resulting in a delay in its diagnosis and a subsequent delay in treatment. No one definitive therapy is available, and treatment consists of early educational and behavioral interventions, as well as drug therapy. Atypical antipsychotics have often been used in the treatment of autistic disorder to target irritability, aggression, and self-injurious behavior, all of which can interfere with other aspects of treatment. One atypical antipsychotic, aripiprazole, has recently been approved for treatment of irritability associated with autistic disorder. Based on the results from two randomized, controlled trials, with efficacy data from nearly 300 patients, treatment with aripiprazole was associated with reductions in irritability, global improvements in behavior, and improvements in quality of life from both the patient and caregiver perspectives. Dosage of aripiprazole ranged from 5 mg to 15 mg per day. Aripiprazole was well tolerated during clinical trials, with most adverse events considered mild or moderate. Clinically relevant weight gain occurred in about 30% of patients given aripiprazole, although when compared with other atypical antipsychotics, aripiprazole appears to have fewer metabolic effects and a lower risk of weight gain. However, pediatric patients taking any atypical antipsychotic should be carefully monitored for potential adverse events, because the long-term effects of antipsychotic therapy in this population are not well known. When used appropriately, aripiprazole has the potential to be an effective treatment for children with autistic disorder to improve irritability and aggressive behavior and improve quality of life.
publisher	Dove Medical Press
publishDate	2010
url	https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3915889/
_version_	1612055684425187328

Emerging role of aripiprazole for treatment of irritability associated with autistic disorder in children and adolescents

Similar Items