Jessica A Hellings, Gregory Reed, Sharon E Cain, Xinghua Zhou, Francis X Barth, Michael G Aman, Gladys I Palaguachi, Dmytro Mikhnev, Rujia Teng, Rebecca Andridge, Marilyn Logan, Merlin G Butler, Joan C Han
OBJECTIVES: Our clinical experience with low dose loxapine (5-15 mg/day) suggests promising efficacy and safety for irritability in autism spectrum disorders (ASD). We studied low dose loxapine prospectively in adolescents and adults with ASD and irritability. Additionally, we measured loxapine and metabolite concentrations, and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) as a biomarker of neuromodulation. METHODS: We performed a 12 week open trial of add-on loxapine in subjects, ages 13-65 years, diagnosed with ASD, and Aberrant Behavior Checklist-Irritability (ABC-I) subscale scores >14...
March 2015: Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology