Atomoxetine, Placebo and Parent Management Training in Autism

Summary

The study will evaluate the effectiveness of atomoxetine (Strattera) with and without Parent Management Training (PMT) in children with Autism, Asperger's Disorder, or Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (PDDNOS) who have symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). This is a double-blind placebo, parallel study where the atomoxetine will have a dose titration over a 6 week period. All children will be seen weekly during this titration period, with additional visits at Week 8 and Week 10. Families assigned to the PMT arm will have an additional weekly meeting with a clinician for a total of 9 PMT visits. PMT involves teaching parents to implement behavioral interventions with their children. Subjects who are clinical responders (ADHD Responders and Compliance Responders) from the 10 week study period will be followed every 4 weeks in a 24-week extension study. Subjects who are clinical nonresponders will continue in PMT if they received PMT during the double-blind phase, and they will receive an open trial of atomoxetine if they were on placebo during the double-blind phase. All subjects (responders and nonresponders) will be invited to participate in follow-up assessments every 4 weeks for 24 weeks after the completion of the double-blind phase.

Timeline

Start

2008-10

Primary completion

2014-04

Completion

2014-04

Publications

• Results Chowdhury M, Aman MG, Scahill L, Swiezy N, Arnold LE, Lecavalier L, Johnson C, Handen B, Stigler K, Bearss K, Sukhodolsky D, McDougle CJ. The Home Situations Questionnaire-PDD version: factor structure and psychometric properties. J Intellect Disabil Res. 2010 Mar;54(3):281-91. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2788.2010.01259.x.
• Results Barkley, R. A., & Edelbrock, C. (1987). Assessing situational variation in children's problem behaviors: The Home and School Situations Questionnaires. In R. Prinz (Ed.), Advances in behavioral assessment of children and families (pp. 157-176). Greenwich, CT: JAI Press Inc
• Iffland M, Livingstone N, Jorgensen M, Hazell P, Gillies D. Pharmacological intervention for irritability, aggression, and self-injury in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2023 Oct 9;10(10):CD011769. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD011769.pub2.
• Arnold LE, Ober N, Aman MG, Handen B, Smith T, Pan X, Hyman SL, Hollway J, Lecavalier L, Page K, Rice R Jr. A 1.5-Year Follow-Up of Parent Training and Atomoxetine for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Symptoms and Noncompliant/Disruptive Behavior in Autism. J Child Adolesc Psychopharmacol. 2018 Jun;28(5):322-330. doi: 10.1089/cap.2017.0134. Epub 2018 Apr 25.
• Lecavalier L, Pan X, Smith T, Handen BL, Arnold LE, Silverman L, Tumuluru RV, Hollway J, Aman MG. Parent Stress in a Randomized Clinical Trial of Atomoxetine and Parent Training for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. J Autism Dev Disord. 2018 Apr;48(4):980-987. doi: 10.1007/s10803-017-3345-4.
• Smith T, Aman MG, Arnold LE, Silverman LB, Lecavalier L, Hollway J, Tumuluru R, Hyman SL, Buchan-Page KA, Hellings J, Rice RR Jr, Brown NV, Pan X, Handen BL. Atomoxetine and Parent Training for Children With Autism and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: A 24-Week Extension Study. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2016 Oct;55(10):868-876.e2. doi: 10.1016/j.jaac.2016.06.015. Epub 2016 Aug 2.
• Handen BL, Aman MG, Arnold LE, Hyman SL, Tumuluru RV, Lecavalier L, Corbett-Dick P, Pan X, Hollway JA, Buchan-Page KA, Silverman LB, Brown NV, Rice RR Jr, Hellings J, Mruzek DW, McAuliffe-Bellin S, Hurt EA, Ryan MM, Levato L, Smith T. Atomoxetine, Parent Training, and Their Combination in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2015 Nov;54(11):905-15. doi: 10.1016/j.jaac.2015.08.013. Epub 2015 Sep 3.

Drugs

Indications