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Divalproex Treatment for Youth With Explosive Temper and Mood Lability: A Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Crossover Design

2000; American Psychiatric Association; Volume: 157; Issue: 5 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1176/appi.ajp.157.5.818

1535-7228

Stephen J. Donovan, J W Stewart, Edward V. Nunes, F M Quitkin, Michael K. Parides, Walter E. Daniel, Ezra Susser, D F Klein,

Bipolar Disorder and Treatment

OBJECTIVE: The authors sought to replicate open-label findings showing that specific criteria for explosive temper and mood lability identify disruptive youth who improve while receiving the anticonvulsant divalproex sodium.METHOD: Twenty outpatient children and adolescents (ages 10–18) with a disruptive behavior disorder (oppositional defiant disorder or conduct disorder) met the specific criteria for explosive temper and mood lability. They received 6 weeks of divalproex treatment and 6 weeks of placebo by random assignment. Independent evaluators blind to group assignment assessed response at the end of each phase.RESULTS: At the end of phase 1, eight of 10 subjects had responded to divalproex; zero of 10 had responded to placebo. Of the 15 subjects who completed both phases, 12 has superior response taking divalproex.CONCLUSIONS: This preliminary study replicates open-label findings showing that divalproex is an efficacious treatment for explosive temper and mood lability in disruptive children and adolescents.