Part of the reason more young people are being placed on powerful antipsychotics is the perception they are safer than older drugs, and therefore can be used to control aggressive children, Dr. Panagiotopoulos said.
But limited resources, scant access to psychological services and pressure from parents and teachers means some doctors are simply writing prescriptions as a way to manage the behavioural problems of children.
“It’s not the first choice but in some cases, medication is turned to because there’s limited access to other types of treatment,” said Jana Davidson, medical director and head of children’s and women’s mental health programs at the Children’s and Women’s Health Centre of B.C. “What do you do in those situations?”
The answer in James Wright’s mind is clear: Don’t prescribe them. The managing director of the Therapeutics Initiative, an independent drug review panel in B.C., argues there’s little research and no government approvals supporting the use of atypical antipsychotics to treat behaviour disorders or depression in children and teens, so it doesn’t make sense to be doling them out.
“It doesn’t make sense,” Dr. Wright said. “Parents should know… there’s major concerns about the daily regular use of these drugs and they should be … advocating for their child and stopping it.”
That’s what Ms. Storbo did in 2008, after her son Connor was on risperidone for about a year. The withdrawal was so intense he stayed on the couch with a sheet over his head for three days, barely moving. Connor, who is now 20, struggles some days to complete such basic tasks as brushing his teeth and remains, for the most part, housebound. Still overweight, Connor has been badly affected by a poor body image and also must take Arimidex, a drug usually given to female breast cancer patients, to stabilize his hormone levels. Connor is taking new medication his mother says is “working somewhat” and is receiving some help from community support centres.
“I’m past the point of thinking there is going to be any magic bullet,” Ms. Storbo says. “I think it’s going to be a very long haul, but I haven’t given up hope.”
A SNAPSHOT OF THE DRUGS
Atypical antipsychotic drugs on the market:
clozapine, risperidone, olanzapine, quetiapine, paliperidone, ziprasidone and aripiprazole
What they are approved to treat:
schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or other psychotic disorders
Are these drugs approved for use in young people?
With the exception of aripiprazole (brand name Abilify, approved for treatment of schizophrenia in 15- to 17-year-olds), none of these drugs is approved by Health Canada for people under 18
What are the concerns?
The number of young people being prescribed atypical antipsychotics for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism, depression, anxiety and a host of other problems has exploded in recent years.
Recently, more doctors and researchers have been reporting that young people on these drugs are vulnerable to excessive weight gain, which could lead to high blood pressure, obesity, lipid and glucose abnormalities, risk factors for conditions such as cardiovascular disease and Type 2 diabetes.
