Serum concentrations, therapeutic response and side effects in children and adolescents with impulsive-aggressive symptoms during risperidone therapy.

Introduction: The aim of this prospective naturalistic study was to examine for the first time the relationship between dosage, serum concentration and clinical outcome in children and adolescents with impulsive-aggressive symptoms during risperidone therapy.

Methods: Steady state trough serum concentrations of risperidone and 9-hydroxyrisperidone (the active moiety) were measured in 103 subjects. The therapeutic effect was assessed by the clinical global impression improvement subscale and side effects by the Udvalg for Kliniske Undersogelser-side effect rating scale.

Therapeutic drug monitoring of quetiapine in adolescents with psychotic disorders.

Introduction: There are developmental and age-dependent differences in the pharmacokinetics and the pharmacodynamics of drugs in children and adolescents. Therefore, there is a need to carry out standardised studies to find out therapeutic ranges of plasma/serum concentrations in psychopharmacotherapy of children and adolescents. The aim of this prospective study was to examine the relationship between quetiapine serum concentration, treatment response, and side effects in a clinical setting to elucidate the age-specific therapeutic range of quetiapine in adolescents.

Transmission disequilibrium of polymorphic variants in the tryptophan hydroxylase-2 gene in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most common behavioral disorder in childhood with substantial heritability. Pharmacological and molecular genetic studies as well as characterization of animal models have implicated serotonergic dysfunction in the pathophysiology of ADHD. Here, we investigated the effect of polymorphic variants in the gene of the tryptophan hydroxylase-2 (TPH2), the rate-limiting enzyme of serotonin (5-HT) synthesis in the brain, in children and adolescents with ADHD.

[Pharmacotherapy of compulsive disorders in childhood and adolescence].

Objectives: The review addresses the issue of the extent to which pharmacological treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorders (OCD) in childhood and adolescence is based on empirical studies.

Methods: Current literature is evaluated, including studies of adult cohorts if these contain approaches relevant for the pharmacological treatment of children and adolescents.

Results: The number of qualified empirical studies is few.

[Obsessive-compulsive disorders in children and adolescents--a review].

Objective: Presented is a review of the literature on the medium- and long-term course of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) with onset in childhood or adolescence.

Methods: Using the data bank MEDLINE, relevant studies published since 1983 were investigated. Older studies were included if their results complemented those of recent studies.