Expert consensus on pharmacotherapy for tic disorders in Japan

Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of aripiprazole oral solution in children and adolescents with Tourette's disorder

BACKGROUND

Aripiprazole is the most frequently recommended antipsychotic for the treatment of tics in children and adolescents with Tourette's disorder (TD). However, to date, a randomized controlled trial for aripiprazole oral solution has not been conducted despite being widely preferred by children. Therefore, we examined whether aripiprazole oral solution is effective for treating tics.

METHODS

All patients received a flexible dose of aripiprazole oral solution (1 mg/mL, range: 2-20 mg) with a starting dose of 2 mg. The target dose for patients weighing < 50 kg was 2, 5, and 10 mg/day, and that for patients weighing ≥ 50 kg was 5, 10, 15, and 20 mg/day. The primary efficacy endpoint was the mean change in the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale-total tic score (YGTSS-TTS) from baseline to week 8.

RESULTS

Of the 121 patients enrolled, 59 patients (96.7%) in the aripiprazole group and 53 patients (88.3%) in the placebo group completed the study. The aripiprazole group showed significantly greater improvement in the YGTSS-TTS from baseline to week 8 than the placebo group (least squares mean difference [95% confidence interval (CI)] -5.5 [95% CI - 8.4 to - 2.6]). At week 8, the response rate (i.e., percentage of patients with a Tourette's Syndrome Clinical Global Impression-Improvement score of 1 or 2) of the aripiprazole group (86.4%) was significantly higher than that of the placebo group (56.6%; odds ratio: 3.6, p < 0.001). The incidence of treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) reported in at least one patient was 86.9% in the aripiprazole group and 65.5% in the placebo group. All TEAEs were mild or moderate in severity. No serious adverse events or deaths occurred during the study.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings suggest that aripiprazole oral solution is an effective, well-tolerated, and safe treatment for children and adolescents with TD.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03487783. Registered 4 April 2018.

Second-generation antipsychotic medications and metabolic disturbance in children and adolescents

Background

The second-generation antipsychotics (SGAs) are a group of antipsychotic drugs, used to treat psychiatric conditions. SGAs have been shown to precipitate rapid weight gain and dyslipidemia, as well as to promote insulin resistance, leading to the emergence of type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome. Prescriptions of SGAs in children have increased 6- to 10-fold during the last decade. This research work designed to find correlation between duration of second-generation antipsychotics (SGA) use, in children and adolescent, and the increase in metabolic syndrome disturbance components including weight gain, hypertension, hyperlipidemia and diabetes mellitus. This is cross-sectional analytic study was carried out in Suez Canal University Hospital, Psychiatry Outpatient Clinic on Children and adolescent aged 4–17 years. It included 151 children and adolescents diagnosed by Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 5 (DSM-5). They were divided into two groups, 72 patients who regular on (SGA) as treated group and 79 patients who did not receive pharmacological medication as control group.

Results

The overall prevalence of metabolic syndrome in the current study was high 27.81% in SGA-treated children compared to 0.60% in control group. In the SGA-treated group, 22.22% had type 2 diabetes, compared with 2.53% in the control group. SGA-treated patients showed a highly significant increase in their weight, body mass index and waist circumference compared to their control group patients. The correlation of different metabolic syndrome indices and SGAs duration showed positive correlation with body mass index, fasting blood sugar, and blood lipids (low density lipoproteins and cholesterol) but negative correlation with high density lipoproteins. Blood pressure did not correlate with SGA-duration in the studied patients. Indices which showed correlation could be predictors of the metabolic syndrome developments. Although the correlation and regression model showed moderate degree of association, this is considered important issue for the young patients.

Conclusion

SGA treatment in children and adolescence confers a significantly increased risk for metabolic syndrome and SGA-treatment duration is important for MtS development.

Medication Choices in Children With Tic Disorders in Mainland China, Macao, Hong Kong, and Taiwan: Perspectives of Guardians and Physicians

Objective: Survey pediatricians and guardians of children with tic disorder on medication needs and choices.

Methods: We designed a cross-sectional survey for pediatricians in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan, as well as for the guardians of patients with tic disorder from West China Second University Hospital. We collected and analyzed information on clinicians’ medical behavior and medication choices and on guardians’ knowledge of tic disorder, medical treatment behaviors, and medication choices and needs.

Results: We collected responses from 242 physicians and 610 guardians. For patients with tic disorder and without comorbidities, the first-line drugs selected by physicians were tiapride (60.74%), clonidine (32.64%), haloperidol (25.62%), aripiprazole (16.53%), and sulpiride (12.4%). Physicians reported making medication choices by considerations such as clinical guidelines, clinical efficacy, a low incidence of adverse drug reactions, sufficient clinical research evidence, convenient dosage forms, and patient adherence. Guardians reported making medication choices by considerations such as a low incidence of adverse drug reactions, physician recommendations, clinical efficacy, dose, dosage forms, and the convenience and steadiness of obtaining the medication. However, guardians exhibited insufficient knowledge of tic disorder and treatment options.

Conclusions: Physicians and patient guardians differ in their considerations when selecting medications, highlighting a gap in optimizing treatment.

Psychotherapy Combined with Western Medicine in the Treatment of Children with Tic Disorder: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Objective

To evaluate the efficacy of psychotherapy in children with tic disorder and to provide basis for the application of psychotherapy in the treatment of children with tic disorder.

Methods

A detailed search was conducted based on PubMed, Cochrane library database, CNKI, Wanfang Data, and VIP database to determine the randomized controlled trial (RCT) of psychotherapy combined with drugs and oral drugs in the treatment of tic disorder. The search time was from the establishment of the database to August 20, 2021. All kinds of extracted data are meta analyzed, and the statistical software used is Review Manager 5.3 software.

Results

According to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 14 clinical trials were finally included, including 513 TD children, including 267 in the psychological intervention group and 246 in the control group. All trials were conducted in China and published from 2013 to 2021. In terms of clinical efficacy, compared with the control group, the psychotherapy combined with drugs group had more advantages in improving the effective rate (RR = 3.25, 95% CI: 2.17~4.85, Z = 5.74, P < 0.00001) and improving the clinical symptoms of children with TD (WM = −5.36, 95% CI: -6.41 ~ -4.30, Z = 9.97, P < 0.00000 1).

Conclusion

Psychotherapy as an adjuvant therapy for clinical treatment of TD can improve the clinical efficacy, but due to the low methodological quality of the existing trials, the research may have potential bias. In the future, large sample, multicenter, and double-blind randomized controlled trials need to be carried out to provide further support.

An International Survey of Health Care Services Available to Patients With Tourette Syndrome

Objective: Tourette syndrome (TS) is a neuropsychiatric disorder that is highly associated with several comorbidities. Given the complex and multifaceted nature of TS, the condition is managed by a wide variety of practitioners in different disciplines. The goal of this study was to investigate health service delivery and care practices by clinicians who see TS patients across different geographic settings internationally. Methods: A comprehensive questionnaire was developed to assess clinical care resources for patients with TS and was sent to clinicians in Canada (CA), the United States (US), Europe (EU), and the United Kingdom (UK). Responses were compared quantitatively between geographic regions. Results: The majority of respondents, regardless of region, reported that fewer than 40% of their case-load are patients with tics. The accessibility of TS services varied among regions, as indicated by differences in wait times, telemedicine offerings, comorbidity management and the availability of behavioral therapies. First-line pharmacotherapy preferences varied among physicians in different geographical regions with CA respondents preferring alpha-2-adrenergic agonists and respondents from the UK and EU preferring dopamine receptor antagonists. Discussion: The results suggest that there is a scarcity of specialized TS clinics, potentially making access to services challenging, especially for patients newly diagnosed with TS. Differences in regional pharmacotherapeutic preferences are reflected in various published treatment guidelines in EU and North America. The lack of dedicated specialists and telemedicine availability, coupled with differences in comorbidity management, highlight the need for interprofessional care and holistic management to improve health care delivery to patients with TS.

Aripiprazole for the treatment of Tourette syndrome

Introduction: Tourette syndrome (TS) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by multiple tics which often persisting in forms of different severity throughout adult life. The prevalence of neuropsychiatric co-morbidity in patients with TS is high. Treatment of TS can involve pharmacological, behavioral, or, in rare cases, surgical therapies. Over the last two decades there has been growing interest in the use of aripiprazole, a novel partial dopamine receptor agonist, as a promising anti-tic agent.Areas covered: The authors reviewed the available literature evaluating the role of aripiprazole in the treatment of TS and other tic disorders in both children and adults. This includes data from five randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and eleven open-label studies.Expert opinion: There is moderate quality evidence supporting the use of aripiprazole in reducing tic severity in children and adolescents, however there is a lack of robust evidence evaluating its use in adults, despite expert consensus. Overall, it appears that aripiprazole is a safe and effective treatment for tics. Further large scale RCTs assessing the long-term efficacy and safety of aripiprazole in the treatment of tics are warranted, especially in adult populations with TS.

Revisiting the Efficacy and Tolerability of Topiramate for Tic Disorders: A Meta-Analysis

Background: Tic disorders (TDs) are chronic neuropsychiatric disorders that usually begin in childhood. Currently, antipsychotic drugs, such as aripiprazole and risperidone, are frequently used to treat TD. However, adverse reactions limit their further usage. The efficacy of topiramate has been reported in recent studies. This study aimed to investigate the efficacy and tolerability of topiramate in the treatment of children with TDs. Methods: In this study, we performed a meta-analysis to assess the efficacy and tolerability of topiramate for TDs and identified the randomized controlled trials to evaluate topiramate for children with TDs from PubMed, the China National Knowledge Infrastructure database, Web of Science, and relevant reference lists. Quality assessment followed the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions. A modified Jadad scale was used to assess the quality of included studies. Risk ratio (RR) was calculated as the effect size of efficacy and tolerability of topiramate for TDs. Results: A total of 15 studies involving 1070 participants aged 2-17 were included in the present meta-analysis, and 693 (64.71%) participants were male cases, with 14 studies evaluating the efficacy of topiramate for the treatment of TD. The results suggested that topiramate was more effective than control drugs (RR: 1.13, 95% confidence interval: [1.06-1.20], I² = 36%, Q = 20.31, p = 0.09). For the adverse events, there were 15 trials included in the meta-analysis, and the results showed that topiramate had fewer adverse events than control drugs (RR: 0.54, 95% confidence interval: [0.46-0.65], I² = 45%, Q = 25.49, p = 0.03). Conclusion: Compared with haloperidol and tiapride, topiramate appears to be a promising medication with good efficacy and tolerability for children with TDs. In future studies, large-sample, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials are needed to confirm its efficacy and tolerability compared with atypical antipsychotic agents (such as risperidone or aripiprazole).

Effectiveness and Safety of a Clonidine Adhesive Patch for Children With Tic Disorders: Study in a Real-World Practice

Background: Real-world evidence includes data from retrospective/prospective observational studies and observational registries, and provides insights beyond those addressed by randomized controlled trials. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of a clonidine adhesive patch (CAP) for children with tic disorder (TD) in a real-world setting (RWS).

Methods: This was an open-label, non-interventional, post-marketing, observational study in a RWS. Children diagnosed with TDs were enrolled from a pediatric neurology clinic in China, and the change in tic symptom severity following 6 weeks pharmacologic treatments was investigated using Yale Global Tic Severity Scale (YGTSS) during visits at weeks 0, 4, 8, and 12.

Results: Of 150 patients, 76% (114/150) were male (age range, 3.03–14.24 years; mean, 8.11 ± 2.48 years). Patients were divided into three groups: tiapride (n = 94), CAP (n = 14), and CAP + tiapride (n = 42). The mean YGTSS improved 11.02, 15.14, 11.13 points from baseline to posttreatment for tiapride, CAP, and CAP + tiapride, respectively, but variance analysis showed there was no significant difference in YGTSS related to different pharmacologic intervention during subsequent visits at weeks 4, 8, and 12. Repeated measure analysis showed there was no significant difference between different medication types for reducing the YGTSS score (F = 0.553, P = 0.576). No serious adverse events (AEs) occurred, and there was no significant difference in the prevalence of AEs between the three groups.

Conclusion: The CAP is effective and safe for TD management in a RWS, because of the limitation of sample size and the period of follow up, observational studies with longer-term outcomes, and larger sample size are needed.

Current pharmacotherapy for tic disorders

Introduction: Though many unanswered questions about the pathophysiology of Tourette Syndrome remain, several pharmacotherapies for tics have been studied, with varying results in terms of efficacy and the strength of evidence.Areas covered: This literature review encompasses pharmacotherapies for tics. The pharmacotherapies discussed in this review include: alpha agonists, antipsychotics, topiramate, botulinum toxin, and dopamine depleters.Expert opinion: Once the presence of tics is confirmed and psychoeducation and support are provided to patients and caregivers, one must examine the degree of tic-related impairment and the presence of psychiatric comorbidities. These factors influence treatment decisions as the presence of comorbidity and related impairment may shift the treatment target. When selecting a medication for tics, the presence of ADHD (the most frequent comorbidity) strengthens the case for choosing an alpha agonist. The case for antipsychotic medications is strongest when tic-related impairment is severe and/or the tics are refractory to more conservative measures. All medications require drug safety monitoring procedures and reevaluation over time.