The efficacy of the serotonin uptake inhibitor clomipramine in treating stereotyped and related repetitive behavior disorders was tested in 10 adults (ages 18-42) with severe and profound mental retardation. Of the seven participants who tolerated the drug, six exhibited a clinically significant improvement in one or more repetitive behaviors.…

Over a 24-month period, 25 adults with mental retardation being fed via a gastrostomy tube experienced 40 cases of pneumonia during 508 person-months of observations, whereas 5 individuals being fed via a jejunostromy tube did not experience any pneumonia during 96 person-months of observation. (Contains references.) (Author/CR)

Effects of parental acceptance or rejection of a proposed aversive behavioral intervention for students with developmental disabilities on treatment acceptability ratings were investigated with 273 undergraduate and graduate students. Results suggest that parental acceptance or rejection of the proposed intervention significantly affected…

Review of psychiatric hospital discharge summaries for 247 individuals with mental retardation and psychiatric disorders found that 39 had a seizure diagnosis. The only difference between the groups with and without seizures was level of mental retardation. No differences existed concerning length of stay, transfer to state hospital, psychiatric…

The efficacy of the atypical antipsychotic risperidone was evaluated in the treatment of aberrant behavior (e.g., aggression, self-injury) in 20 individuals with developmental disabilities. The study, a double-blind crossover design, identified 50 percent of participants as responders. Naturalistic observations of five participants showed that…

An intervention group (n = 23) of preschool children with autism was identified on the basis of parent preference for early intensive behavioral intervention and a comparison group (n = 21) identified as receiving treatment as usual. Prospective assessment was undertaken before treatment, after 1 year of treatment, and again after 2 years. Groups…

The study of effects of haloperidol drug therapy with 20 institutionalized mentally retarded persons found clinical changes confined to a slight reduction in stereotypic behavior and an increase in gross motor activity under the high dose condition. Subjects with high initial levels of stereotypy showed the best response to the drug. (Author/DB)

Psychotropic drug use in a large Massachusetts public facility for mentally retarded adults was reduced to and maintained at approximately 20 percent over an eight-year period during which a monitoring and evaluation procedure (including interdisciplinary team review, identification of target behaviors, and concurrent alternative forms of…

Review of the charts of 100 patients with mental retardation and epilepsy revealed that 60 patients were taking 1 antiepileptic drug and 40 were taking 2 or 3 drugs. Most subjects had generalized tonic-clonic seizures, but individuals with profound retardation had relatively more mixed seizures. (Author/JDD)

A study of a 35-year-old woman with severe mental retardation and Tourette syndrome examined the efficacy of haloperidol in the treatment of Tourette syndrome. Results indicate that the haloperidol treatment produced significant reduction of all tic topographies. Improvement was also seen in tic severity, hyperactivity, and compulsive behaviors.…

Double blind study compared effects of two drug treatments, naloxone hydrochloride and naltrexone hydrochloride, on self-injurious behavior of a 12-year-old mentally retarded and autistic girl. Self-injury increased with naloxone treatment but decreased to near zero with naltrexone, a change which persisted at follow-up 22 months after treatment.…

Journal articles dealing with drug treatment of individuals with mental retardation were examined to determine treatment goals and outcomes of treating behavior problems. Analysis of articles published from 1987 to 1993 in 5 major journals revealed that none of the 68 articles concerned with the psychopharmacology of mental retardation reported…

This study of 40 patients with mental retardation receiving carbamazepine found hyponatremia in only 5 percent of these patients and found a statistically, but not clinically, significant decrease in serum sodium levels in patients receiving anticonvulsant polytherapy. Results support the use of this drug with patients with mental retardation and…

Severely and profoundly mentally retarded institutionalized residents (N=74) who received lithium carbonate for behavior disorders were followed in a 10-year retrospective study. Thirty-one subjects demonstrated a sustained major reduction or elimination of behavioral symptoms. Lithium responders were likely to be older and to present symptoms of…

The study found that institutionalized mentally retarded persons were more likely to be maintained on neuroleptic drugs because of events (such as disturbing behavior, self stimulation, or physical aggression) perceived as significant and recorded by staff in clinical notes than for the reasons the drugs were prescribed initially. (Author/DB)