• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.239-250
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• 2005

Objective : The purpose of this study was obtaining data on the efficacy and safety of risperidone in child and adolescent psychiatric patients. Method : Thirty one children and adolescents (males n=18, females n=13, age ranged from 5.4 to 17.3 years) treated with risperidone were selected among child and adolescent psychiatric inpatients of Seoul National University Hospital from January, 2001 to June, 2002, and charts for them were reviewed retrospectively. Results : The primary psychiatric disorders treated with risperidone were schizophrenia and other psychosis, bipolar I disorder with psychotic features, Tourette's disorder, autism spectrum disorders, mixed receptive and expressive language disorder, attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder, conduct disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder. twelve of these had comorbid mental retardation. Primary target symptoms of risperidone were psychotic symptoms (n=13 or $41.9\%$), behavioral symptoms (n=10 or $32.3\%$) including aggression, impulsivity, hyperactivity, stereotypy nonresponsive to other psychiatric treatments, and chronic and severe tics (n=8, $25.8\%$). The efficacy of risperidone was measured by clinical global improvement (CGI) for target symptoms, $67.7\%$ of subjects showed moderate or marked improvements and its therapeutic effect appeared to be maintained during at least 7.5 months. Mean daily dosage of risperidone was $0.05{\pm}0.01mg/kg$, the group with psychotic symptoms had significantly higher mean daily dosage (0.07mg/kg) compared with other two groups (0.04mg/kg) with behavioral symptoms or tics. A variety of adverse events were reported in this study : weight gain (n=23) most commonly reported, extrapyramidal symptoms (n=15), autonomic symptoms (n=6), sedation (n=5) and symptoms related to hyperprolactinemia (n=2) etc. Although there was no drug change related to the adverse events of risperidone, and $90\%$ of subjects at their last visits were maintained on it, thus its tolerability appeared good. Conclusions Results suggest that risperidone may be relatively safe and effective drug in managing a wide variety of child and adolescent psychopathologies such as psychotic symptoms, behavioral symptoms including aggression, impulsivity, hyperactivity and stereotypy nonresponsive to other psychiatric treatments, and chronic and severe tics. Controlled and long-term studies of efficacy and safety of risperidone treatment for children and adolescents are recommended in the future.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.256-262
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• 2001

Objective：The enlargement of the lateral ventricle is well established finding in adult-onset schizophrenia, but in the patients with early-onset psychotic disorder(EOPD) is still controversal. To identify structural abnormalities of the lateral ventricle in patients with EOPD and difference of the brain developmental course in EOPD group, planimetrical assessment of the lateral ventricle was conducted by means of retrospective quantitative neuroimaging. Methods：The brain MR images of 14 patients with EOPD(mean age $14.0{\pm}2.1$ years) who met the DSM-III-R diagnostic criteria for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder and 24 control subjects with simple headache(mean age $10.0{\pm}2.1$ years) were collected. Single best view for the lateral ventricle, one axial slice was selected for analysis. MR images were redigitalized with flatbed scanner and data were analyzed with NIH IMAGE software. Results：In the patients with EOPD, there were significant correlations between aging and lateral ventricular sizes and between aging and ventricular brain ratio(VBR). The statistical significance of normal asymmetry of the lateral ventricle was not observed for the EOPD group. The EOPD group had larger lateral ventricular sizes and VBR than control group, but these results were not statistically significant. Conclusion：These findings suggest that the brain abnormalities in patients with EOPD progress from the earlier course of the disorders and the course of brain development in EOPD group is different from control group.