Quetiapine treatment of children and adolescents with Tourette's disorder.

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to investigate the short-term safety and effectiveness of quetiapine in the treatment of children and adolescents with Tourette's disorder.

METHODS

This was an 8-week, open-label trial that included 12 subjects with a mean age of 11.4 +/- 2.4 years. The subjects were seen every week throughout the study.

RESULTS

Clinical responses, as measured by the Turkish version of the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale, revealed a statistically significant reduction in tic scores ranging from 30-100%. Mean dose of quetiapine at the end of the study was 72.9 +/- 22.5 mg/day. Three subjects complained of sedation in the first week of treatment.

CONCLUSIONS

The favorable results of this open-label study should be interpreted with caution due to the uncontrolled nature of the study. Spontaneous waxing and waning of symptoms should also be considered. Further controlled studies are required.