Research: Psychopharmacology of Aggression in Children and Adolescents with Autism: A Critical Review of Efficacy and Tolerability

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Authored by Parikh, MS, Kolevzon A., and Hollander E. in Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology, Volume 18, Issue 2, p. 157-178, (2008).

Article summary (posted Jun 13, 2008):

Five drugs have been shown to help with aggression in children with autism: tianeptine, methylphenidate, risperidone, clonidine, and naltrexone.

This review article describes studies on the use of drug therapy used to treat aggression in children with autism. The best research supports the use of risperidone and methylphenidate to treat symptoms of aggression in children with autism. The authors believe that future research should look to see if a class of drugs known as serotonin reuptake inhibitors can also help treat aggression. In all cases the authors suggest that studies start with a low dosage of drug and slowly increase the amount of drug. The authors also suggest that all future studies of autism look to see if the drug is able to help with aggression.

Links:

You can access the original abstract and the complete paper is sometimes available for free via Google Scholar (look for entries that say "PDF" or "HTML" on the right side of the page).
aggressive behavior, autism, Catapres - Duraclon (clonidine), Concerta (methylphenidate hydrochloride), drug, Revia - Vivitrol (naltrexone), Risperdal (risperidone), Ritalin - Methylin (methylphenidate hydrochloride), serotonin, Stablon - Coaxil - Tatinol (tianeptine), therapy
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