Neuropsychiatric Effects of Guanfacine in Children With... : Clinical Neuropharmacology (original) (raw)
Original Articles
Neuropsychiatric Effects of Guanfacine in Children With Mild Tourette Syndrome: A Pilot Study
Cummings, Dana D.*; Singer, Harvey S.*†; Krieger, Madeline*; Miller, Teresa L.§; Mahone, E. Mark‡§
Departments of *Neurology, †Pediatrics, and ‡Psychiatry, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore; and §Department of Neuropsychology, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. E. Mark Mahone, Department of Neuropsychology, Kennedy Krieger Institute, 1750 East Fairmount Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21231, USA. E-mail: [email protected].
Abstract
The objective of this study was to evaluate the neuropsychiatric effects of the alpha-2a adrenergic agonist guanfacine in children with Tourette syndrome (TS). Twenty-four children with TS participated in a 4-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of guanfacine. Tic severity, neuropsychologic functioning, and parent ratings of behavior were evaluated pre- and post-treatment. The sample had mild tic severity and subtle neuropsychologic dysfunction pretreatment. Post-treatment, patients receiving guanfacine were rated by parents as significantly improved (compared to placebo) on one measure of executive function (parent-rated metacognition). Improvement on tic severity, performance-based neuropsychologic measures, and all other parent ratings were not significantly better than placebo. At a moderate dose and short-term treatment duration, guanfacine did not provide significant neuropsychiatric benefits in this group of children with mild TS.
© 2002 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Inc.