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Side Effect Study of Antipsychotic Medicines to Treat Childhood Bipolar Disorder

Investigating Metabolic Side Effects of Antipsychotic Medications in Children

Status
Terminated
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT00746252
Acronym
PAMS
Enrollment
5
Registered
2008-09-03
Start date
2008-06-30
Completion date
2010-10-31
Last updated
2020-01-06

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Bipolar Disorder

Keywords

bipolar, children, antipsychotic, side effect

Brief summary

The purpose of this study is to learn more about weight gain and related side effects when children are treated with antipsychotic medicine for mood disorders.

Detailed description

This protocol is a six month, randomized, open label trial of risperidone versus aripiprazole in antipsychotic naive youth (7 - 12 years old) who have been identified by their clinical treatment provider as needing antipsychotic treatment of a bipolar disorder. This study proposes to monitor changes in metabolic parameters (body mass index percentile, % body fat, insulin resistance, and lipid levels) over the course of six months treatment with aripiprazole or risperidone in youth with a bipolar spectrum disorder. We will also assess possible mechanisms of second generation antipsychotic induced weight gain by monitoring physical activity and hunger/appetite changes over the course of treatment.

Interventions

DRUGrisperidone

Children will have a flexible dose titration based on their unique response to the medication (assessed using clinical global improvement scores). Children will be treated for six months using daily, bid dosing.

DRUGaripiprazole

children will have a flexible dosing titration based on their unique response (assessed using clinical global improvement scores). Children will be treated with daily medication for six months.

Sponsors

University of Maryland, Baltimore
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
OTHER
Masking
NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
7 Years to 12 Years
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* We will include children, ages 7 - 12 years old, male and female with diagnosis of a bipolar spectrum disorder. * Specific diagnoses included are as follows: * Bipolar I disorder, * Bipolar II disorder, * Bipolar Disorder Not Otherwise Specified, * Mood Disorder Not otherwise specified. * The inclusion of a spectrum of bipolar diagnosis is because children with moderate to severe impairment from mood symptoms often still do not meet criteria for Bipolar I disorder since young children tend to have more chronic (non-episodic) course of symptoms and diagnostic criteria for Bipolar I disorder are more difficult to apply to adults than young children (e.g. symptoms of grandiosity and euphoria). * No prior treatment with an antipsychotic medication for \>30 days. This criteria was added because weight loss on an assigned treatment may be due to discontinuing a prior antipsychotic medication rather than due to the current treatment. * Recommendation from a current psychiatric treatment provider for treatment with an antipsychotic medication. * This inclusion criteria provides an added layer of safety in that youth who have referred for the study have already been deemed by their independent provider to need an antipsychotic medication, so we are only exposing children to antipsychotic treatment who would have been treated with this type of medication regardless of whether or not there care was provided in a research or clinical program.

Exclusion criteria

* Medications: We will exclude children who are on current treatment with * oral steroids, * lithium, * depakote since these medications will have a confounding effect on weight. * We will allow children on stimulant medication to participate, because ADHD comorbidity is very high in prepubertal bipolar disorder (unlike adolescent or adult onset bipolar disorder). * We are including ADHD children to thus increase generalizability of the study, and it would be inappropriate to withhold stimulant treatment from these children for a six month period. * Recruitment will be stratified to make sure there are equal numbers of patients on stimulants in each group. * Somatic Conditions: We will exclude children with diabetes (type I or type II), and those with physical disability that would interfere with physical activity (will specifically exclude children whose guardian reports that the child has been medically excused from physical education at their school program because of physical disability) since insulin sensitivity and activity levels are outcome measures being assessed in this protocol. * We will exclude youth with mental retardation, by parent report. Cognitive screening will be done with the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WASI). * Youth with an IQ less than 70 will be excluded because they may have difficulty with self report measures. * We will exclude children who have a history of treatment of an antipsychotic medication for \>30 days, as explained above.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Weight GainThese measurements are done biweekly from baseline up until 12 weeksWeight gain from baseline to last observation up to 12 weeks. Last observation carried to 12 weeks.

Countries

United States

Participant flow

Pre-assignment details

Two participants enrolled and completed baseline assessments but were withdrawn from the study at baseline due to the following reasons: 1. Abnormal glucose tolerance test requiring further assessment with endocrinology. 2. Unable to complete lab work due to increased distress.

Participants by arm

ArmCount
Risperidone
risperidone risperidone: Children will have a flexible dose titration based on their unique response to the medication (assessed using clinical global improvement scores). Children will be treated for six months using daily, bid dosing.
1
Aripiprazole
aripiprazole aripiprazole: children will have a flexible dosing titration based on their unique response (assessed using clinical global improvement scores). Children will be treated with daily medication for six months.
2
Total3

Withdrawals & dropouts

PeriodReasonFG000FG001
Overall Studyweight gain >7.5 %12

Baseline characteristics

CharacteristicAripiprazoleTotalRisperidone
Age, Continuous12.5 years
STANDARD_DEVIATION 0
10.9 years
STANDARD_DEVIATION 2.78
7.75 years
STANDARD_DEVIATION 0
Race (NIH/OMB)
American Indian or Alaska Native
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Asian
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Black or African American
2 Participants2 Participants0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
More than one race
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Unknown or Not Reported
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
White
0 Participants1 Participants1 Participants
Region of Enrollment
United States
2 participants3 participants1 participants
Sex: Female, Male
Female
2 Participants3 Participants1 Participants
Sex: Female, Male
Male
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants

Adverse events

Event typeEG000
affected / at risk
EG001
affected / at risk
deaths
Total, all-cause mortality
— / —— / —
other
Total, other adverse events
1 / 12 / 2
serious
Total, serious adverse events
0 / 10 / 2

Outcome results

Primary

Weight Gain

Weight gain from baseline to last observation up to 12 weeks. Last observation carried to 12 weeks.

Time frame: These measurements are done biweekly from baseline up until 12 weeks

ArmMeasureValue (MEAN)Dispersion
RisperidoneWeight Gain8.5 pounds
AripiprazoleWeight Gain6.65 poundsStandard Deviation 1.48
Comparison: Comparison of mean weight gain between groups.p-value: 0.495t-test, 2 sided

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026