Abstract
This issue of the journal includes two articles that enlarge the literature relating to a significant problem in pediatric psychopharmacology: weight gain associated with atypical antipsychotic medications.
Garfunkel et al. report on the findings of a 16-week randomized controlled trial assessing metformin as a treatment for weight gain in youth ages 6–17 with autism spectrum disorder being treated with atypical antipsychotic medications. The authors not only found that metformin can be effective in reducing weight gain associated with these medications; they also report that genotyping can predict metformin response. “Potentially,” they write, genotyping could be used “to adjust dosing based upon predicted response” or even used to introduce metformin earlier in the prescribing process “much as benztropine is commonly used in concert with potent dopamine receptor antagonist medications such as haloperidol.”
In their article, Nicol et al. discuss the results of a trial of a behavioral weight loss (BWL) intervention for reducing total body fat and associated markers of cardiometabolic risk in youth with autism spectrum disorder being treated with antipsychotics. “Overall,” the authors write, “the results confirm that BWL interventions can favorably impact early measures of cardiometabolic risk in youth,” although “effects were attenuated in the high-risk population of antipsychotic-treated youth, which may be attributed to unique behavioral characteristics and needs.”
Also of note is an article from Santamarina-Perez et al. on neural connectome correlates of nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) and psychotherapy treatment response. They write that “compared with healthy controls, adolescents with NSSI showed significantly reduced connectivity” across a range of brain regions, and that “stronger negative amygdala-prefrontal connectivity was associated with greater post-treatment improvement in NSSI.”
Elsewhere, we have a promising array of international articles on attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) treatment and its effects. Khan and Aslani from the University of Sydney provide a helpful overview of the literature on medication adherence in pediatric ADHD treatment. Cheung et al. report on ADHD medication adherence into adulthood based on a large Dutch database. Wang et al. investigate possible effects of methylphenidate treatment on testicular function in boys with ADHD in a very large Taiwanese sample (n > 100,000). And Temizsoy et al. present findings of the quality of life impact of ADHD treatment in an Austrian sample.