Prescribing antipsychotics for children and adolescents

Retrospective Analysis of the Effectiveness and Tolerability of Long-Acting Paliperidone Palmitate Antipsychotic in Adolescent First-Episode Schizophrenia Patients

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to explore the effectiveness and tolerability of long-acting paliperidone palmitate antipsychotic in adolescent first-episode schizophrenia patients while comparing the results with the oral antipsychotic risperidone.

METHODS

This study is a retrospective, noninterventional study to assess the effectiveness and tolerability of long-acting injectable antipsychotic paliperidone palmitate in first-episode adolescent patients during the first 12 months of treatment compared with the oral antipsychotic risperidone. The data include general sociodemographic characteristics, number of hospitalizations, side effects, and the following clinical scales: Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), Personal and Social Performance Scale (PSP), Clinical Global Impression Improvement and Severity (CGI-I and CGI-S), and Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire for Medication (TSQM).

RESULTS

During the 12-month study period significant improvement was registered in patients receiving both paliperidone palmitate and risperidone in the following scales: PANSS, PSP, CGI-I, and CGI-S. Patients receiving paliperidone palmitate had significantly greater improvement in PANSS, CGI-S, and PSP compared with the risperidone group. Patients receiving risperidone had significantly higher number of hospitalizations than the patients receiving paliperidone palmitate. The TSQM revealed that the patients who were receiving paliperidone palmitate achieved significantly higher scores on the convenience scale, global satisfaction, and on the overall result, whereas no difference was observed on the effectiveness scale. There were several side effects reported for paliperidone (5.5% hyperprolactinemia, 5.5% weight gain) and risperidone (5.5% hyperprolactinemia, 16.7% weight gain).

CONCLUSIONS

In conclusion, paliperidone palmitate seems to be safe and effective in adolescent patients. Furthermore, it compared favorably with risperidone in the clinical response, side effects, and hospitalizations.

Antipsychotic Medication Prescribing Trends in a Pediatric Population in Northern Poland 2008-2012

OBJECTIVES

In recent years antipsychotics have been increasingly used in the population of children and adolescents. The objective of this article is to profile the use of antipsychotic medications in a pediatric population in Poland based on data from the Pomeranian region (Northern Poland).

METHODS

The study was based on National Health Fund data about prescription drug reimbursement between 2008 and 2012. A patient database was created using ID to analyze specific patterns and information about individuals using antipsychotics. Percentage population indicators were calculated using official demographic reports.

RESULTS

An increased number of overall prescriptions was observed since 2008, with a subsequent decline to its lowest number in 2012. The population with at least one antipsychotic-filled prescription per year has grown in the same time. The annual rate has increased from 0.26% to 0.31% of the general population between 0 and 17 years of age in the Pomeranian region. We observed an increasing number of females and the 0- to 4-year-old receiving antipsychotic prescriptions. The population share of prescribed first-generation antipsychotics exceeded the share of second-generation antipsychotics (SGAs). The use of SGAs increased from 38% to 44% of all prescriptions, during the observation period. The most frequently prescribed drugs were Risperidone (26.7%) and Chlorprothixene (21.7%).

CONCLUSIONS

The study revealed that the prescribing patterns of antipsychotics increased in the Polish pediatric population and concerned more patients from the youngest group. The high prevalence of such early exposure to antipsychotics should focus more attention on drug safety in this population.

Atypical antipsychotics in the treatment of pathological aggression in children and adolescents: literature review and clinical recommendations

OBJECTIVE

To review the literature about the use of atypical antipsychotics in the treatment of pathological aggression in children and adolescents.

METHOD

The databases MEDLINE, SciELO, and LILACS were searched for publications in Portuguese or English from 1992 to August 2011 using the following keywords: mental disease, child, adolescent, treatment, atypical antipsychotic, aggressive behavior, aggression, and violent behavior.

RESULTS

Sixty-seven studies of good methodological quality and clinical interest and relevance were identified. Studies including children and adolescents were relatively limited, because few atypical antipsychotics have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). All the medications included in this review (risperidone, olanzapine, quetiapine, ziprasidone, aripiprazole and clozapine) have some effectiveness in treating aggression in children and adolescents, and choices should be based on clinical indications and side effects.

CONCLUSIONS

There are few studies about the effectiveness and safety of atypical antipsychotics for the pediatric population, and further randomized controlled studies with larger groups of patients and more diagnostic categories, such as severe conduct disorder and oppositional defiant disorder, should be conducted to confirm the results reported up to date and to evaluate the impact of long-term use.

Altered cortical maturation in adolescent cannabis users with and without schizophrenia

During late adolescence, progressive cortical thinning occurs in heteromodal association cortex (HASC) that is thought to subserve cognitive development. However, the impact of cannabis use disorder (CUD) upon cortical gray matter development in both healthy adolescents and adolescents with early-onset schizophrenia (EOS) is unclear. T1-weighted magnetic resonance images were acquired from 79 adolescents at baseline and after an 18-month follow-up: 17 with EOS, 17 with CUD, 11 with EOS+CUD, and 34 healthy controls (HC). Mean age at baseline was 16.4years (CUD+) and 17.0years (CUD-). Using FreeSurfer, measures of cortical thickness for ROIs within HASC were obtained. A 2 (EOS versus no EOS)×2 (CUD versus no CUD) multivariate analysis of covariance was applied to change scores from baseline to follow-up to test for main effects of EOS and CUD and an interaction effect. After adjusting for covariates, a significant main effect of CUD was observed. Adolescents with CUD showed an attenuated loss of cortical thickness in the left and right supramarginal, left and right inferior parietal, right pars triangularis, left pars opercularis, left superior frontal, and left superior temporal regions compared to non-using subjects. Stepwise linear regression analysis indicated that greater cumulative cannabis exposure predicted greater cortical thickness in both the left (p=.008) and right (p=.04) superior frontal gyri at study endpoint after adjusting for baseline cortical thickness for the entire sample. These preliminary longitudinal data demonstrate an atypical pattern of cortical development in HASC in adolescents with CUD relative to non-using subjects, across diagnostic groups. Additional studies are needed to replicate these data and to clarify the clinical significance of these findings.