Risperidone, the first drug approved for children with autism and the most widely used, improves some behavior but can have severe side effects such as sleepiness and weight gain
Although numerous studies have documented risperidones risks, efforts to find safer alternatives have so far come up short. Credit: Thinkstock
Risperidone, the first drug approved for children with autism and the most widely used, improves some childrens behavior but can have severe sideeffects, suggests an informal analysis of the drugs use.
The drug effectively treats the explosive and aggressive behavior that can accompany autism. It has pretty big effects on tantrums, aggression and self-injury, saysLawrence Scahill, professor of pediatrics at the Marcus Autism Center at Emory University in Atlanta, who has conducted clinical trials of risperidone. The change can be dramatic, he says, taking effect in a matter of weeks.
It has also been shown to reduce hyperactivity andrepetitive behaviors, though the Food and Drug Administration has not approved it for those purposes.
Through these effects, risperidone allows children with autism to benefit from social services, educational programs and behavioral interventions, experts say.
If you cant sit still during speech therapy, youre attacking the teachers, youre not going to be able to take advantage of it, saysChristopher McDougle, director of the Lurie Center for Autism at MassGeneral Hospital for Children in Boston, who has studied risperidone use in children and adolescents.
But risperidone also has significant drawbacks and limitations.Not all people respondto it, symptoms often return when the drug is discontinued, and it doesnt improve many of the core behaviors associated with autism.
In other words, risperidone is not a cure for autism, saysBenedetto Vitiello, chief of the Child and Adolescent Treatment and Preventive Intervention Research Branch at the National Institute of Mental Health. It doesnt really go to the core symptoms of autism.
More worrisome, however, are the side effects, the most significant of which is weight gain from an increased appetite. Children taking risperidone gain an average of 6 pounds within eight weeks of taking the drug. The drug can also cause drowsiness, hormonal changes and, in rare cases, involuntary movements.
Read the original here:
Widely Used Autism Drug Carries Heavy Risks for Children