Naloxone attenuates self-abusive behavior in developmentally disabled clients

The opiate antagonist naloxone was effective in reducing self-abusive behavior in two mentally retarded clients with an extensive history of such behavior. Three doses of naloxone (0.1, 0.2, 0.4 mg) were compared with a vehicle solution in a double-blind, crossover design. Naloxone greatly attenuated self-abusive episodes in one client and eliminated them entirely in the second client. In addition, use of self-restraining behavior by one client was reduced. The findings suggested that some clients with self-injurious behavior may have disturbances of the endogenous opiate system. Maintenance of self-abuse by tonically elevated pain threshold and/or by the putative addictive characteristics of such behavior was discussed.