An open-label trial of escitalopram in pervasive developmental disorders.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the effect of escitalopram in the treatment of pervasive developmental disorders (PDDs).


METHODS
This 10-week study had a forced titration, open-label design. Twenty-eight subjects (mean age 125.1 +/- 33.5 months) with a PDD received escitalopram at a dose that increased weekly to a maximum dose of 20 mg as tolerated. The Aberrant Behavior Checklist-Community Version (ABC-CV) and the Clinical Global Impression scale (CGI) were used to assess outcome.


RESULTS
There was significant improvement in ABC-CV Irritability Subscale Scores (baseline mean 20.5 +/- 5.9 to final mean 10.9 +/- 7.2; p < or = .001) and in the other ABC-CV Subscales. Improvement on Clinical Global Improvement Scale severity rating was also significant (baseline mean 5.2 +/- 1.0 to final mean 4.6 +/- 1.2; p < or = .001). Twenty-five percent of the subjects responded at a dose less than 10 mg and did not tolerate the 10-mg dose, and an additional 36% responded at a dose greater than or equal to 10 mg. Final dose was unrelated to weight and only weakly correlated with age.


CONCLUSIONS
This open-label study found escitalopram to be useful in treating some difficulties common in PDDs. A wide variability in dose was found that could not be accounted for by weight and only partially by age. The study provides information useful for the design of double-blind, placebo-controlled studies of escitalopram in PDDs.
Owley
Thomas
T
Department of Psychiatry, University of Chicago MC 3077, 5841 South Maryland Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637, USA. towley@yoda.bsd.uchicago.edu
Walton
Laura
L
Salt
Jeff
J
Guter
Stephen J
SJ
Winnega
Marrea
M
Leventhal
Bennett L
BL
Cook
Edwin H
EH
D000293:Adolescent; D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy; D002648:Child; D002659:Child Development Disorders, Pervasive / Q000188:drug therapy*; D015283:Citalopram / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000494:pharmacology; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000494:pharmacology
D015283:Citalopram; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors