title: Fluoxetine treatment of severe self-injury in young adults with mental retardation.
abstract: Dysfunction of the serotonergic system has been implicated in the development and maintenance of self-injury in some persons with mental retardation. Several preliminary reports have suggested that fluoxetine, a drug that blocks the reuptake of serotonin, may decrease self-injury in these individuals. Of the 44 cases of self-injury treated with fluoxetine and previously reported in the literature, 42 demonstrated a beneficial response to the drug. We report four additional cases of adults with mental retardation whose self-injury was treated with fluoxetine. Each of these individuals benefited from fluoxetine to some extent, with average decreases in self-injury ranging from 20% to 88% when compared with baseline levels. These findings, combined with those from previously published case studies, emphasize the need for well-controlled studies to more adequately assess the effects of fluoxetine on self-injury.
authors.affiliation: Southwest Institute for Developmental Disabilities, Abilene, Texas.
authors.forename: R W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Ricketts
authors.forename: A B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Goza
authors.forename: C R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Ellis
authors.forename: Y N
authors.initials: YN
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.forename: N N
authors.initials: NN
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Cooke
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001521:Behavior Therapy; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005260:Female; D005473:Fluoxetine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D008607:Intellectual Disability / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology; D008297:Male; D016728:Self-Injurious Behavior / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology
chemical_list: D005473:Fluoxetine