Risperdal/Risperidone fails a RCT

[Lucas]

http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/a...600720/abstract

 

This has just started being passed around the loop. Haloperidol is also looked at. I've never been sure why Risperdal was approved by the FDA in the US for Autistics(for their 'anxiety'); it's original use was for people who hallucinate and I can still find no reference to it ever being used to treat anxiety in any non-Autistic group.

 

The results of the study showed that the drug was no better than placebo(which sometimes did better) for treating aggression in intellectually disabled people, of which Autistics made up a small part in this study. The study was a randomised controlled trial, very close to the 'gold standard' of study design.

 

This is the same drug my brother's friend with Schizophrenia-Psychosis takes to stop him avoiding the bathroom in case Toilet Duck gets him.

[zarathustra]

Wow! That just about wraps it up.

[kellyanne]

J was on rispiradole 0.5mg as an appetite increasing drug, but was taken off it about 8 weeks ago. I can say that his behaviour has not differed in any way since being off the drug. He can still be aggressive towards us all.

[Elanor]

This was a study on adults with intellectual disability. I have read debate that the study shows that anti-psycotic medication has been inappropriately prescribed when what was needed was behavioural interventions - and that the interesting improved results where placebos were used resulted simply from the individuals receiving a degree of attention which didn't usually get.

 

I'm not sure it casts much light on the usefulness of risperidone in treating aggression or anxiety in children with Asperger's Syndrome - this study didn't in fact look at this group of people.