Long-Term Effectiveness of Off-Label Risperidone Treatment in Children and Adolescents: A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Discontinuation Study.

Risperidone is commonly prescribed off-label in children and adolescents to manage disruptive behavior. This study aimed to investigate continued benefits of risperidone after at least 1 year of treatment and effects of discontinuation on physical health. Thirty-five youths (aged 6-18 years, intelligence quotient [IQ] >70) who were treated with risperidone for at least 1 year in regular clinical practice receiving outpatient care were randomly assigned to double-blind continuation of risperidone during 16 weeks or continuation for 2 weeks, gradual dose lowering over 6 weeks, and placebo for 8 weeks.

Measuring Adaptive Behavior in Patients with Mendelian Neurodevelopmental Disorders. Comparison of ABAS-3 and Dutch Vineland Scales.

Objective: Several instruments are available for measuring (aspects of) adaptive functioning, but knowledge is lacking about which is best to use to monitor patients with etiologically homogeneous neurodevelopmental disorders. In this study we compare the use of the Vineland-Z and ABAS-3 adaptive behavior scales in such a specific group.

Method: Of patients with a molecularly confirmed diagnosis of Kleefstra syndrome, 34 were assessed with both the Vineland-Z and ABAS-3 of which 12 (35,3%) males and 22 (64,7%) females.

Adherence to Clinical Guidelines for Dose Finding and Monitoring Methylphenidate Use: A Medical Record Audit in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Care and Pediatric Settings.

Guideline adherence is important to ensure optimal and safe use of methylphenidate for children and adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). We investigated adherence to Dutch guidelines regarding dosing and monitoring of methylphenidate in child and adolescent mental health care and pediatric treatment settings. Five hundred six medical records of children and adolescents were investigated in 2015 and 2016.

The impact of age on olfactory alcohol cue-reactivity: A functional magnetic resonance imaging study in adolescent and adult male drinkers.

Background: Adolescence is marked not only by rapid surges in the prevalence of alcohol use disorders (AUDs) but also by remarkable recovery rates, as most adolescent-onset AUDs naturally resolve over time. Little is known about the differential vulnerability of adolescents and adults. Therefore, this study aimed to unravel the moderating role of age by comparing neural alcohol cue-reactivity, an important AUD biomarker, between low-to-high beer-drinking adolescent (n = 50, 16 to 18 years), and adult (n = 51, 30 to 35 years) males matched on drinking severity.

Clinicians' Adherence to Guidelines When Initiating Methylphenidate Treatment.

Between 2008 and 2012, the number of children and adolescents in the Netherlands who received methylphenidate prescriptions increased by 35.6%. We determined guideline adherence regarding the assessment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and rates of off-label use in those 2 years.

Withdrawing methylphenidate in relation to serum levels of ferritin and zinc in children and adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Iron and zinc have been associated with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), executive functioning, and response to methylphenidate, given their link with the dopaminergic system. This study aimed to investigate the effect of withdrawing methylphenidate after long-term treatment on serum levels of ferritin and zinc; and if baseline (pre-discontinuation) serum levels of these nutritional markers moderated the effects of withdrawing methylphenidate on ADHD and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) symptoms, and working memory. Blood samples were collected from 63 children and adolescents who participated in a randomized, placebo-controlled methylphenidate discontinuation study.

Effects of methylphenidate on executive functioning in children and adolescents with ADHD after long-term use: a randomized, placebo-controlled discontinuation study.

Background: Methylphenidate may improve executive functioning in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, it is unclear if there are still acute effects of methylphenidate on executive functioning after long-term use.

Methods: In a randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled discontinuation study, 94 children and adolescents (ages 8-18 years) who used methylphenidate beyond two years were either assigned to seven weeks of continued treatment with 36 or 54 mg of extended-release methylphenidate or to gradual withdrawal over three weeks to placebo for four weeks.

Guideline Adherence of Monitoring Antipsychotic Use for Nonpsychotic Indications in Children and Adolescents: A Patient Record Review.

Background: Antipsychotics are frequently prescribed to children and adolescents for nonpsychotic indications. Guidelines recommend regularly assessing treatment response and adverse effects and the ongoing need for their use. We aimed to assess adherence to recommendations of available guidelines regarding monitoring antipsychotic use and to test the influence of children's age, sex, intelligence quotient, and diagnosis on adherence.

Author Correction: Large-scale targeted sequencing identifies risk genes for neurodevelopmental disorders.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Large-scale targeted sequencing identifies risk genes for neurodevelopmental disorders.

Most genes associated with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) were identified with an excess of de novo mutations (DNMs) but the significance in case-control mutation burden analysis is unestablished. Here, we sequence 63 genes in 16,294 NDD cases and an additional 62 genes in 6,211 NDD cases. By combining these with published data, we assess a total of 125 genes in over 16,000 NDD cases and compare the mutation burden to nonpsychiatric controls from ExAC.

Mental Health Among Children Older than 10 Years Exposed to the Haiti 2010 Earthquake: a Critical Review.

Purpose Of Review: There is evidence that the exposure to a major natural disaster such as the 2010 earthquake in Haiti may have devastating short- and long-term effects on children's mental health and overall development. This review summarizes what has been reported in the past 3 years (2017-2020) regarding emotional, psychological, and behavioral effects of exposure to this particular earthquake on children 10 years and older.

Recent Findings: Twenty-six articles were screened, of which twenty-one were selected for final analysis.

Prescribing antipsychotics in child and adolescent psychiatry: guideline adherence.

Antipsychotics are often prescribed to children and adolescents, mostly off-label. We aimed to assess adherence to recommendations of guidelines for antipsychotic prescription. We reviewed 436 medical records from 155 clinicians from 26 clinics within three Dutch child and adolescent psychiatry organizations (n = 398 outpatient, n = 38 inpatient care).

Effects of Discontinuing Methylphenidate on Strengths and Difficulties, Quality of Life and Parenting Stress.

To study the effects of discontinuation of long-term methylphenidate use on secondary outcome measures of strengths and difficulties, quality of life (QoL), and parenting stress. Ninety-four children and adolescents aged 8 to 18 years who had used methylphenidate for over 2 years were randomly assigned to double-blind continuation of treatment for 7 weeks (36 or 54 mg extended release methylphenidate) or to gradual withdrawal over 3 to 4 weeks placebo. We used mixed models for repeated measures to investigate effects on parent, teacher, and child ratings of hyperactivity/inattention and comorbid symptoms with the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), investigator- and teacher-rated oppositional symptoms (Conners Teacher Rating Scale-Revised: short form [CTRS-R:S]), and parent-rated aggression with the Retrospective Modified Overt Aggression Scale.

Continued Benefits of Methylphenidate in ADHD After 2 Years in Clinical Practice: A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Discontinuation Study.

Objective: The benefits of long-term use of methylphenidate treatment in children and adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), as frequently prescribed in clinical practice, are unclear. The authors investigated whether methylphenidate remains beneficial after 2 years of use.

Methods: Ninety-four children and adolescents (ages 8-18 years) who had been treated in regular care with methylphenidate for more than 2 years were randomly assigned to double-blind continuation of treatment for 7 weeks (36 or 54 mg/day of extended-release methylphenidate) or gradual withdrawal over 3 weeks, to 4 weeks of placebo.

Overweight in family members of probands with ADHD.

The widely reported association between ADHD and overweight may be attributable to genetic and environmental factors also present in unaffected family members. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the association between ADHD and overweight within families. A cohort was used of families with at least one member with ADHD, recruited as part of the Dutch node of the International Multicenter ADHD Genetics (IMAGE) study, with assessments taking place between 2003 and 2006, 2009 and 2012, and 2013 and 2015.

Evaluating Differential Effects of Specific Pain Dismissal Interactions With Physicians.

Objectives: Over 40% of adolescents with chronic pain report experiencing pain dismissal, which is a response from another individual that is perceived as diminishing, denying, or disbelieving an individual's report of pain. Pain dismissal by physicians often leaves patients feeling discredited, which may discourage them from seeking and receiving proper treatment for their pain. The purpose of this study was to investigate how the 4 most commonly reported types of physician pain dismissal differentially affect individuals' reactions.

Vulnerability to psychogenic non-epileptic seizures is linked to low neuropeptide Y levels.

Psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES) is a conversion disorder that reflects underlying psychological distress. Female patients with PNES often present with a history of prolonged stressors, especially sexual abuse. In the current study, we studied the relationship between neuropeptide Y (NPY) and PNES symptoms in women with a history of sexual abuse.

Is There a Female Protective Effect Against Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder? Evidence From Two Representative Twin Samples.

Objective: Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is more frequent in males than in females. The "female protective effect" posits that females undergo greater exposure to etiological factors than males in order to develop ADHD, leading to the prediction that relatives of females with ADHD will display more ADHD behaviors. We thus tested whether cotwins of females displaying extreme ADHD traits would display more ADHD traits than cotwins of males displaying extreme ADHD traits.

Association of common cold with exacerbations in pediatric but not adult patients with tic disorder: a prospective longitudinal study.

Cross-sectional data and case studies suggest a temporal relationship between fluctuations in tic severity and preceding infections. In this study, we aimed to examine this possible relationship in a prospective longitudinal design. Two groups of tic disorder patients were included, a pediatric group between 7 and 15 years of age (n = 20), and an adult group over 15 years of age (n = 41).

Serotonin transporter intron 2 polymorphism associated with rigid-compulsive behaviors in Dutch individuals with pervasive developmental disorder.

Two putatively functional polymorphisms of the serotonin transporter gene (HTT, SLC6A4) were examined for associations with risk for pervasive developmental disorders (PDDs) and specific autism phenotypes. Dutch patients diagnosed with PDD (N = 125, age range 5-20 years, DSM-IV-TR based criteria, ADI-R and ADOS behavioral assessments) and their parents (N = 230) were genotyped for promoter ins/del (5-HTTLPR) and intron 2 variable number of tandem repeats (VNTR) alleles. Using the transmission disequilibrium test (TDT), no disorder-specific preferential transmission of promoter (long and short) or intron 2 (10- and 12-repeat) alleles was observed.

Relative contribution of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and tic severity to social and behavioral problems in tic disorders.

The aim of this study was to investigate social and behavioral problems related to attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), obsessions and compulsions, and tic severity in children with a tic disorder. Parents of 58 children with a tic disorder with and without different forms of ADHD completed the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and the Children's Social Behavior Questionnaire. Patients with a tic disorder with primarily hyperactive-impulsive ADHD had the highest questionnaire scores, patients with primarily inattentive ADHD had medium scores, and patients without ADHD had the lowest scores.

Platelet serotonin levels in pervasive developmental disorders and mental retardation: diagnostic group differences, within-group distribution, and behavioral correlates.

Objective: To investigate group differences, the within-group distributions, and the clinical correlates of platelet serotonin (5-HT) levels in pervasive developmental disorders (PDD).

Method: Platelet 5-HT levels were measured in Dutch children and young adults, recruited from 2001 through 2003, with PDD (autism, Asperger's, and PDD-not otherwise specified [PDD-NOS]; n = 81) or with mental retardation (MR; n = 54) but without PDD, and in normal controls (n = 60). The distribution of platelet 5-HT levels was assessed using mixture-modeling analyses.

Lack of effect of intravenous immunoglobulins on tics: a double-blind placebo-controlled study.

Background: Case studies and a placebo-controlled study previously suggested the effectiveness of immunomodulatory therapy in patients with tic or related disorders whose symptoms show a relationship with streptococcal infections. No data are available on the effectiveness of intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIG) on tic severity in unselected tic disorder patients.

Method: Thirty patients with a DSM-IV tic disorder were randomly assigned to IVIG (1 g/kg on 2 consecutive days; mean age = 28.

Association of small life events with self reports of tic severity in pediatric and adult tic disorder patients: a prospective longitudinal study.

Background: Clinical experience suggests an association between stressful life events and fluctuations in symptom severity of tic disorder patients. The aim of the present study was to examine this possible relationship in a prospective longitudinal design.

Method: Two groups of patients with tic disorder according to the research criteria of the Tourette Syndrome Classification Study Group were included in this study (Sept.

Neurobiology and neuroimmunology of Tourette's syndrome: an update.

Tourette's syndrome is a childhood-onset neuropsychiatric disorder characterized by the presence of both multiple motor and vocal tics. While the pathogenesis at a molecular and cellular level remains unknown, structural and functional neuroimaging studies point to the involvement of the basal ganglia and related cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical circuits as the neuroanatomical site for Tourette's syndrome. Moreover, Tourette's syndrome has a strong genetic component, and considerable progress has been made in understanding the mode of transmission and in identifying potential genomic loci.