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Risk and benefits of antipsychotics in children and adolescents

Press conference at the occasion of the 21st Congress of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology

Many of the psychiatric disorders observed in adults have their onset in childhood or adolescence. The presence of a major mental illness is certainly no less serious in children than in adults – in fact, childhood onset of several psychiatric disorders predicts a worse illness course. Early manifestations of mental disorders may substantially impact the child´s academic performance and achievement as well as his/her ability to develop age-appropriate social skills. Thus, appropriate identification and treatment of signs and symptoms of psychiatric illnesses during childhood and adolescence is critical for minimizing continued or additional psychiatric problems that put these children at risk later in life.

Treatment advances, particularly with the introduction of new-generation antipsychotic medications, have created a lot of expectations in the search for long-term, clinically effective treatments for this young population. The prescription of new-generation antipsychotics (=second-generation antipsychotics; SGA) has become a widely accepted practice in the treatment of children and adolescents with psychotic disorders and other psychiatric conditions, with a steep increase in the paediatric population (160% in the USA between 1990?). However, only few well-controlled studies have so far assessed the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of antipsychotics in children and adolescents in both the short and long term. Recently, the new EC regulation on medicinal products for paediatric use aimed to improve the information available to prescribers and families, forcing drug companies to conduct clinical trials in this population in order to reduce off-label use (=non-approved use). In younger patients the use of antipsychotics merits careful scrutiny as this is a more vulnerable population to side effects than adults. Dr. Celso Arango, a renowned Spanish psychiatrist, will present the latest results from his research group on the benefits and risks of antipsychotic medication in children and its impact on individual well-being, social, educational and/or vocational functioning, and disease burden. Furthermore, he will point out the challenges that clinicians encounter in treating children and adolescents with psychiatric disorders, and discuss the requirements for starting antipsychotic treatment in clinical practice.

SPEAKER: Dr. Celso Arango, MD, PhD, Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón, Department of Psychiatry, Madrid, Spain

For further information please come to the press conference on 1 September 2008, Barcelona, Spain!

We hope that the 21st ECNP Congress will highlight the contribution of neuropsychopharmacology to medical practice and help all of us in raising the awareness for mental disorders both among physicians, researchers and the public.

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