Long-Term Lithium Treatment for Aggressive Conduct Disorder

Launched by DREXEL UNIVERSITY · Nov 2, 1999

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

Psychotherapeutic agents are often administered without sufficient testing to children and adolescents, often on a long-term basis, to reduce aggression. Many pressures, including managed care, will increase the utilization of pharmacotherapy in the outpatient setting to treat serious problems. Lithium is the most promising agent for the treatment of aggression in children and adolescents. However, it has not been shown that lithium is an effective treatment for these patients in the outpatient (non-hospital) setting, or on a long-term basis. The purpose of this study is to examine the long...

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• Inclusion Criteria:
• • 1. Males and females
• • 2. Ages between 9 and 17 years.
• • 3. Conduct disorder according to DSM-IV (As rated on the DICA-IV).
• • 4. The aggression criterion at screening
• Exclusion Criteria:
• • 1. Mental Retardation.
• • 2. Pervasive Developmental Disorder(s).
• • 3. Major Depressive Disorder or Dysthymic Disorder.
• • 4. Bipolar Disorder.
• • 5. Psychotic Disorder (including Schizophreniform Disorder and Schizophrenia).
• • 6. Major medical problem such as cardiac, renal, and thyroid diseases, or seizure disorder.
• • 7. History of psychoactive medication in the previous 2 weeks.
• • 8. Current Pregnancy in females.
• • 9. History of Substance Dependence in the past month.
• • 10. Prior to the proposed study, a history of lithium treatment with serum lithium levels of 0.4 mEq/L or higher for a cumulative period of greater than 10 days.