Eight-Week Prospective Open-Label Trial of the Treatment Efficacy of Aripiprazole in Children with Tourette Syndrome / 대한정신약물학회지

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: It is postulated that since aripiprazole is a dopamine partial agonist and serotonin 2A receptor antagonist, aripiprazole may be effective in Tourette syndrome with few of extrapyramidal side effects. This open label study assessed the effectiveness of aripiprazole in children with Tourette syndrome (TS). METHOD: Nineteen children, aged 6 to 13 years, diagnosed with TS were participated in a 8-week open label trial. Efficacy assessments included Korean form of Yale Global Tic Severity Scale (K-YGTSS) and Clinical Global Impression scores. Safety and tolerability evaluations included extrapyramidal symptoms and effects on weight, prolactin, and corrected QT (QTc) interval. RESULTS: A significant decrease in TS symptoms, on all scales measured, appeared in 2 weeks. Adverse effects were mild and not significant. The most frequent side effects were somnolence, light headedness and headache. CONCLUSIONS: The results of current open label trial suggests the effectiveness of aripiprazole and few of side effects in the treatment of children with TS. Double-blind, placebo-, and active comparator-controlled studies are indicated to rigorously test of the efficacy of aripiprazole in TS.