Research summaries for autism therapy: Clozaril - FazaClo (clozapine)

definition of Clozaril - FazaClo (clozapine): This is an antipsychotic medication that may be prescribed off-label for children with autism to help reduce hyperactivity, fidgeting, and aggression. Clozaril® (FazaClo® [orally disintegrating]) lowers binding of dopamine to most types of dopamine receptors and other types of receptors on cells in the nervous system. Clozaril is usually used to treat people with severe schizophrenia, or people who repeatedly threaten to commit suicide. As an uncommon side effect, there is increased risk of seizures or agranulocytosis (a change in white blood cells that can be severe and result in death). The risks are a concern particularly in children and adolescents, and in people who might already have a risk for seizures. The risks also increase with increasing dose of the medication. Other side effects can also occur, including agranulocytosis. People taking Clozaril need to be carefully monitored with regular blood tests for possible side effects.

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Antipsychotic drugs may help to reduce problem behaviors and improve function in patients with autism.

Treatment of autism requires many approaches: educational, behavioral, and psychosocial. The purpose of this review article is to describe the use of antipsychotic drugs to treat symptoms of autism. The antipsychotics drugs include: haloperidol, risperidone, olanzapine, ziprasidone, aripiprazole, clozapine, and quetiapine. Haloperidol has been around for a long time and there are many studies that show haloperidol to be safe and effective. Risperidone is the antipsychotic drug that has been best studied in autism. Read more...

Drug therapy may help with problem behaviors that can be associated with autism.

This review article describes the use of a type of drug known as atypical antipsychotics as a treatment for children with autism, and reports on whether or not these drugs work. Atypical antipsychotics are often used as a first-line therapy to treat problem behaviors in children with autism. Problem behaviors such as aggression and self-injury and tantrums can often get in a way of a childâ??s schooling. Atypical antipsychotics include clozapine, risperidone, olanzapine, quetiapine, ziprasidone, and aripiprazole. Risperidone is the only drug that is FDA-approved for use with autism. Read more...

Risperidone therapy may cause incontinence (urine and fecal accidents).

This case study describes two children with autism who were treated with risperidone and then had incontinence. The first child was a 12-year-old boy who was at first given risperidone at 1 mg per day and then increased to 2 mg per day. The second was a 16-year-old boy who was started on 1 mg of risperidone per day and increased to 1.5 mg of risperidone per day. Two other drugs have also been shown to cause double incontinence (clozapine and olanzapine). The incontinence stopped once the boys were taken off of risperidone. Read more...

Drugs that target the brain chemical phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4) may some day help people with autism.

This study looked to see whether or not the PDE4 gene is involved in autism. The authors found that certain types of PDE4 were decreased in the brains of people with autism when compared to the brains of controls. The difference in PDE4 was most pronounced in the cerebellum and frontal cortex portions of the brain. The drugs haloperidol, clozapine, lithium, and valproic acid all act on PDE4 in the brain. The authors suggest that these drugs be studied more closely to see if they are good therapies for autism. Read more...


Synonyms for Clozaril - FazaClo (clozapine) include: agranulocytosis, clozapine, Clozaril, Clozaril®, FazaClo, FazaClo®
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