Feds Approve Drug to Treat Symptoms of Autism

[GinaMarie]

http://cbs13.com/health/local_story_279183526.html

Oct 6, 2006 3:33 pm US/Pacific

Feds Approve Drug To Treat Symptoms Of Autism

(AP) WASHINGTON A Johnson & Johnson drug received expanded federal approval Friday to treat aggression and other symptoms of autism in children.

The new use for Risperdal is to treat irritability associated with autistic disorder, including temper tantrums, deliberate self-injury and aggression in children and adolescents, ages 5 to 16.

The approval is the first for the use of a drug to treat behaviors associated with autism in children, the Food and Drug Administration said.

Risperdal, first approved by the FDA in 1993, has been used to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder in adults.

The antipsychotic drug is not a cure for autism, nor does it treat the condition itself, but it may provide relief for some children, according to Johnson & Johnson.

Autism is a complex developmental disability. It typically appears during a child's first three years of life, and it affects communication, social interaction and creative or imaginative play.

In 2005, the FDA declined to expand its approval of Risperdal, also known as risperidone, to include autism.

The most common side effects of Risperdal include drowsiness, constipation, fatigue and weight gain.


(© 2006 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

[Jamies Mommy]

How nice to hear that the pharmaceutical (sp?) companies got FDA approval to profit off of the disorder that their vaccines most likely caused. NOT!

[Mother's Heart]

makes me sick to my stomach.

not totally fair of me, I know, and I know some actually have benefited from Risperdal....but still, it just makes me sick to think of all it, and all the harm it has/will cause.

[GinaMarie]

Thanks for your replies gals/guys . This is all becoming new to me as we are starting to test Adam again to see if he is Aspergers or high functioning Autism. Im trying to learn all about it all. When I read the article I didnt know if it was good or not. It didn't sound real good. When I read that side effects were drowsiness, fatigue and consitipation... Wouldnt that cause more frustration for the kids causing more outbursts in them?

I've been doing quite a bit of research on Aspergers, Autism and HFA to learn about it. I think the boys school is going to refer Adam to the diagnostic center to have him tested also.

Is there any meds that DO help? He takes Adderall XR now for ADHD and the generic form of DDAVP for enuesis (bedwetting).

HUGS
GM

[Mother's Heart]

oh how I WISH the only side effects were those 'most common ones' of drowsiness, fatigue, constipation. wouldn't THAT be grand! Kids with autism often have 'paradoxical' or just inconsistent responses to meds, plus I have a REAL BIG PROBLEM with giving these types of meds to our kids to 'control' behaviours, therefore ignoring and masking the real root of the behaviours and so not dealing with it. I just think these meds create more misery than they eliminate and are HORRIBLy unfair to the kid. And the RISKs of dystonia etc is just WAY too great for me to ever consider risking. I do HAVE 4 oz of Risperdol... from the last appt we had with our beloved Autism doc.

I have to again emphasize that I don't think risperdal is unjustified in every instance and don't feel negative judgement towards parents who weigh their options and choose to go that route. It is an intensely personal and individualized decision and in some circumstances is necessary, or is a wonderful solution that provides great relief to the kid and frees them up to concentrate and live with less misery. I am just overly cautious about doing things to my kid to quell his behaviours/appearances in order to relieve the discomfort of others (ie: public/teachers/doctors) around him. Let THEM take the drugs and suffer the side-effects and have their needs ignored, instead of my kid.

Okay, Gina, I think you know me well enough to know that coming from me that is practically a tirade up there....and also to know that it is not meant with any acerbity or meanness.

[Isabelle]

GinaMarie, drugs do nothing for autism, but worsen the negative features or outwards symptoms. Autistics are people-dependent, they need a consistent cool calm (preferable the same) person besides them explaining stuff to him.

My son was diagnosed with autistic features, hyperactivity and he had problems sensing when he needed to go washroom. He was given Neuroleptics or typical antipsychotics when he was just 11 and he become angry and impulsive and his bedwetting became chronic for a while. What was described much later as a "paradoxical response" to drugs due to some problems with the P450 izoenzymes or liver pathways, etc.

Then in 1997 when he was about to be 23 and for very long keeping his bed dry he was put on Risperdal. After 7 months on 1.50mg of Risperdal a day he became incontinent, needed to pee every 45 minutes, a few months later he became fecally incontinent, can you imagine his distress? That was cruel.

If on drugs he was aggressive and occassionally self-injurious on Risperdal and worse on Zyprexa he banged his head non-stop.

So if you child has already ADHD and bedwetting problems, there is a strong chance that Risperdal even at small dose, with time, might complicate his problems.

As Mother's heart says there is far more adverse effects that are not mentioned. My poor boy lost control of his body, he became stiff what is called drug-induced parkisonism and he couldn't understand what's going on. This is also known as chemically restraining a person. The person loses interest on things that gave him pleasure. Also loses initiative to care for himself. Ultimately that is the goal of using drugs on the disabled to make them submissive and easy to care for or doing a lobotomy by prescription. This is not only cruel but criminal.

Some parents write that their children "benefit" from small dose of Risperdal but when hormones start to kick in, watch out! They might develop problems controlling their emotions, no mentioning unexpected metabolic changes. In reality, nobody knows the long term effect of Risperdal.

Now at home he is 2 months and 3 weeks off all drugs, he is much mellow but still a long way to go to recover... if ever.

Editing: I forgot to add that photophobia, seizures and/or "drug-induced psychotic seizures) are also part of the adverse effects of these drugs.

[cckids]

We have had good luck with risperdal with one of our sons, he is 5 1/2 and he's been on it for almost a year now- he was highly aggressive towards peers smaller than him, constantly melting down, growling at people, and difficult to redirect. With the risperdal, he is mostly happy, sing-songy, and the meltdowns are better-and he's responding to taking time-outs on a chair now. Our older son (Aspergers, bipolar, psychosis when manic) did not do well with risperdal though--he had problems with urinary frequency, enuresis, and fixating on food.
The boys are gentically cousins, but it goes to prove that each person metablizes a medication differently. Our youngest can't take any anti-histamines (especially benedryl) because he flies into a psychotic rage for 6-8 hours with sever motor agiation, but no one is out there screaming about the terrors of benedryl.

[peglem]

Psych meds can be dangerous, no doubt about it. But I know the desperation of having to do something- I tried all those natural things, diets etc. It is also dangerous to have your child uncontrollably bashing their heads on the hardest surface they can find and violently attacking everyone in the house. You have to use medications causiously and for the benefit of the child. And, for children who have seizures- which cause brain damage over time- what do you suggest? Go for the brain damage because it happens "naturally?"

[Mother's Heart]

I say again, It's still a viable option, but a choice not to be made lightly. I'm one who has a child who has been years down the road of violent (VIOLENT!) head-banging and constant intense aggressive violence towards others in the home. We chose to manage another route.

I also have chosen both to refuse seizure meds, and at another time to choose to medicate seizures, but once having dealt with the apparent source(s) of the trigger, chose to remove him from seizure meds AMA. Five years later he has yet to have that dreaded "Big One" the neuro so direly warned us about. Hasn't had any. Seizures come in all shapes and sizes, and for a variety of reasons. Some can be handled without meds, or with alternatives to neuroleptics, and some cannot. There are still two camps about whether seizures actually cause brain damage or not.

my personal experience 10 years after my last seizure medication, and last seizure, has led me to the conclusion that the meds appear to have caused me more loss of cognitive function (short-term and long-term) than the actual seizures did. Impossible to completely separate one from the other....but this is how it seems to me. A lot of seizure management depends on trial and error and the nature of the seizures, how they and the meds affect the quality of daily life.

I don't say go for the brain damage, but look for sources of the problem, rather than masking it. If the drugs treat the source, then the drugs are worthwhile. If they mask the problem and thus may prevent detection/treatment of the source of the problem...then I say think about it carefully before jumping into using the meds. You have to weigh both sides

[Isabelle]

GinaMarie:

I have to edit my previous post. What it happens was specific to my son he has a very paradoxical response to drugs as was written by the group home physician. The generalization that "meds do nothing for the autistic" came from an expert in autism from Austria, Vienna and from Europe, in general. where the rights of the adult autistic are protected by law designed specifically to prevent the excessive use of tranquilizers and diagnoses of psychiatric disorders, etc. Also, Europe doesn't allow any pharmaceuticals to market a drug saying that it corrects brain chemicals.
Adding, and I believe what Dr. Wakefield found out that in many cases the aggression and self-injurious behaviour on some children comes from pain in the gastrointestinal system and even GI disorders cause dementia like "schizophrenia", "psychosis", "depression", etc.