New Rochelle, NY, July 12, 2016—Childhood-onset schizophrenia is a rare, severe, and difficult to treat form of the disease, but a new study suggests that children show a stronger response to clozapine than to other antipsychotic drugs and compared to adults treated with clozapine. Furthermore, despite the cost of clozapine and the need for regular blood testing, nearly three-quarters of the children adhered to long-term clozapine maintenance therapy, according to the study published in Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology website until August 12, 2016.

 

In “Strong Treatment Response and High Maintenance Rates of Clozapine in Childhood-Onset Schizophrenia,” Lauren Kasoff, Judith Rapoport, MD and coauthors, National Institutes of Mental Health (Bethesda, MD), examined treatment efficacy and adherence to maintenance therapy over a 24-year period among a group of children in whom schizophrenia developed before 13 years of age. The researchers propose that the greater effectiveness of clozapine in children compared to adults may contribute to better long-term therapeutic compliance, helping to prevent relapse of symptoms.

 

Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institutes of Mental Health under Award Number NCT00049738. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

 

About the Journal
Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology is an authoritative peer-reviewed journal published ten times per year online with open access options and in print. The Journal is dedicated to child and adolescent psychiatry and behavioral pediatrics, covering clinical and biological aspects of child and adolescent psychopharmacology and developmental neurobiology. Complete tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology website.

 

About the Publisher
Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science and biomedical research, including Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, Games for Health Journal, and Violence and Gender. Its biotechnology trade magazine, GEN (Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News), was the first in itss field and is today the industry’s most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm’s 80 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available on the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers website.