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Clinical effects of buspirone on intractable self-injury in adults with mental retardation
R W Ricketts1, A B Goza, C R Ellis
1Southwest Institute for Developmental Disabilities at Abilene, Texas.
Objective:
The efficacy of buspirone in controlling self-injurious behavior was examined in five individuals with mental retardation. Buspirone was used alone in two individuals and as an adjunct to thioridazine in the other three.
Method:
Standard behavioral observation methods were used to collect data on the number of self-injurious responses of the individuals during baseline and several doses of buspirone in an open trial.
Results:
When compared with baseline levels, all five individuals showed some response to buspirone, with reductions in self-injury ranging from 13% to 72%, depending on the dose. The most effective dose of buspirone was 30 mg/day for three individuals and 52.5 mg/day for the other two. These individuals were maintained for 6 to 33 weeks on their most effective dose. Coexistent symptoms of anxiety did not predict a favorable response to buspirone therapy.
Conclusions:
Buspirone showed a mixed but generally favorable response in controlling intractable self-injury in this and four previous studies reporting similar cases. However, the drug should not be endorsed as a proved treatment for self-injury until similar results have been obtained from well-controlled studies of its efficacy.