Korean J Psychopharmacol.  2006 Jul;17(4):384-389.

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

• Lee MJ
• Sunwoo YK
• Kang MH
• Kim CE
• Bae JN
• Lee JS

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.

Keyword

Tourette syndrome; Aripiprazole; Children; Treatment outcome

MeSH Terms

Child*
Dizziness
Dopamine
Headache
Humans
Prolactin
Prospective Studies*
Receptor, Serotonin, 5-HT2A
Tics
Tourette Syndrome*
Treatment Outcome*
Weights and Measures
Aripiprazole
Dopamine
Prolactin
Receptor, Serotonin, 5-HT2A