Antipsychotics No Better than Placebo for Aggression in the Intellectually Disabled

Antipsychotic drugs do not reduce aggression in patients with an IQ below 75, despite common but controversial use for that purpose in the community.

Although aggression decreased substantially whether patients were given a typical or an atypical antipsychotic, the greatest improvements were seen with placebo (65%, 58%, and 79% from baseline, P=0.06), reported Peter Tyrer, M.D., of Imperial College here, and colleagues in the Jan. 5 issue of The Lancet.

"Antipsychotic drugs should no longer be regarded as an acceptable routine treatment for aggressive challenging behavior in people with intellectual disability," they said, even in low doses.

However, the medications may still have a place in treatment of some behavior disturbances among people with intellectual disability, they said, such as for autistic behavior disturbance in children and to prevent further aggressive behavior after the drugs are given as an emergency measure.

READ MORE @ MEDPAGE TODAY

Brain Chemicals Involved In Aggression Identified: May Lead To New Treatments

School shootings. Muggings. Murder. Road rage. After decreasing for more than a decade, the rate of violent crime in the United States has begun to inch up again. According to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting Program, violent crime rose 2.3 percent in 2005 and 1.9 percent in 2006, the first steady increase since 1993.

And new studies are helping scientists gain deeper insight into the neurobiology of aggression and violence. One analysis of brain imaging studies has revealed that brain structures involved in making moral judgments are often damaged in violent individuals. Another study involving teenage boys suggests that disruptions in a brain region linked to impulsive, aggressive behavior may underlie a certain type of violent, reactive behavior.

Still other research has shed new light on the role that certain brain chemicals play in aggressive behavior, including in maternal aggression. And new animal studies reveal that aggressive encounters cause changes in the brains of aggressors as well as their victims that increase vulnerability to depression and immune-related illnesses.

READ MORE @ SCIENCE DAILY