Clinical Usefulness of Aripiprazole Treatment in a Girl with Prader-Willi Syndrome and Psychosis

Psychotic illness in people with Prader-Willi syndrome: a systematic review of clinical presentation, course and phenomenology

BACKGROUND

Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a rare and complex neurodevelopmental disorder resulting from absent paternal expression of maternally imprinted genes at chromosomal locus 15q11-13. This absence of expression occurs as a consequence of a deletion on the chromosome 15 of paternal origin (ca. 70%), a chromosome 15 maternal uniparental disomy (mUPD; ca. 25%), or an imprinting centre defect (IC; ca. 1-3%). At birth, individuals with PWS are severely hypotonic and fail to thrive. Hyperphagia and characteristic physical and neuropsychiatric phenotypes become apparent during childhood. The risk for the development of a co-morbid psychotic illness increases during the teenage years, specifically in those with PWS due to the presence of an mUPD. The primary aim of this literature review is to inform clinical practice. To achieve this, we have undertaken a systematic analysis of the clinical research literature on prevalence, presentation, course, characteristics, diagnosis and treatment of psychotic illness in people with PWS. The secondary aim is to identify clinical aspects of psychotic illness in PWS in need of further investigation.

METHODS AND FINDINGS

A systematic literature review on psychosis in PWS was conducted on the databases Web of Knowledge, PubMed and Scopus, using the terms "((Prader-Willi syndrome) OR (Prader Willi Syndrome)) AND ((psychosis) OR (psychotic illness))". All articles written in English and reporting original human research were reviewed. In all but three of the 16 cohort studies in which the genetic types were known, the authors reported higher rates of psychosis in people with PWS resulting from an mUPD, compared to those with the deletion subtype of PWS. When psychosis was present the presentation was psychosis similar regardless of genetic type and was usually characterised by an acute onset of hallucinations and delusions accompanied by confusion, anxiety and motor symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS

The onset of confusion, an affective cyclical pattern with the presence of abnormal mental beliefs and experiences, usually of rapid onset is suggestive of the development of psychotic illness. Phenomenologically, this psychosis in people with PWS is atypical in comparison to schizophrenia and bipolar disorder in the general population. The relationship to psychosis in the general population and the optimum treatments remain uncertain.

Aripiprazole treatment for temper outbursts in Prader-Willi syndrome

Background

Prader–Willi syndrome (PWS) is a rare neurodevelopmental disorder based on a loss of paternally expressed genes in chromosome segment 15q11-13. Behavioral traits such as temper outbursts, stereotypic, and ritualistic behavior, as well as an increased risk of psychosis accompany the syndrome, representing a major issue in the treatment of adults with PWS. Up to now, no treatment guideline for these conditions in PWS exist. This study aimed to retrospectively analyze the effect and adverse effects of treatment with aripiprazole for temper outbursts in 10 adults with PWS.

Results

Aripiprazole was prescribed for temper outbursts (n = 10). Treatment outcome was assessed using the Clinical Global Impression-Severity (CGI-S) and -Improvement Scale (CGI-I).

Treatment success (CGI-I < 3) was observed in 70% of cases, with adverse effects from mild to partly serious extent in 60% of cases. The major adverse effect observed was increased daytime sleepiness. In total, 50% of the individuals were treated successfully for temper outbursts. The BMI did not change significantly in the successfully treated group after 6 months of treatment.

Conclusions

Aripiprazole can be a treatment option for temper outbursts in people with PWS. Although a high rate of side effects was detected, their severity led to discontinuation in only 20% of the cases. Furthermore, the absence of weight gain makes aripiprazole interesting especially for the PWS population.

Benefits of multidisciplinary care in Prader-Willi syndrome

Introduction: Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is the most well-known condition of genetic obesity. Over the past 20 years, advances have been achieved in the diagnosis and treatment of PWS with a significant improvement in prognosis.Areas covered: This review focuses on the benefits of multidisciplinary approach in children and adolescents with PWS. In particular, the neonatologist and geneticist play a key role in early diagnosis and the clinical follow-up of the PWS patient must be guaranteed by a team including pediatric endocrinologist, psychologist, nutritionist/dietician, neurologist/neuropsychiatrist, sleep specialist, ears, nose and throat specialist (ENT), lung specialist, dentist, orthopedist and ophthalmologist and, eventually, gastroenterologist. We searched PubMed and critically summarized what has been reported in the last 10 years on PWS.Expert opinion: The multidisciplinary care in association with an early diagnosis and GH treatment postpones overweight development and decreases prevalence of obesity in individuals with PWS. Further prognostic improvements are expected through the selection of teams particularly experienced in the management of individuals with PWS and the discovery of new drugs.

Recurrent Psychosis after Phentermine Administration in a Young Female: A Case Report

Phentermine is a sympathomimetic amine, like amphetamine, which is one of the most often prescribed drugs for weight loss. Although exact mechanism of phentermine causing psychosis is still not clear, numerous reports already showed that phentermine can induce psychosis. Psychotic symptoms are generally resolved once the medications are stopped. In contrast, we present a case of a 25-years-old Asian female patient who developed psychotic symptoms repeatedly after phentermine administrations. This case suggests that phentermine can cause psychotic episodes repeatedly, resulting in chronic occupational and social impairment. Therefore, a precautious measure such as government regulations for physicians prescribing and an education for patients taking phentermine are urgently needed.