Six Months of Treatment with Risperidone May Be Associated with Nonsignificant Abnormalities of Liver Function Tests in Children and Adolescents: A Longitudinal, Observational Study from Turkey

Objective: Risperidone is a promising agent for the treatment of schizophrenia, Tourette's disorder, mood disorders, and disruptive behavior disorders in young populations. However, adverse effects of risperidone may take a long time to emerge. The objective of this study was to investigate the changes in the liver function tests (LFTs) associated with more than 6 months of risperidone treatment in children and adolescents

Liver function tests in children and adolescents receiving risperidone treatment for a year: A longitudinal, observational study from Turkey

WOS: 000293921600006PubMed: 22121930Objective. To determine the changes in liver function tests after long-term risperidone treatment in a child and adolescent population. Methods. Weight, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, gamma glutamyl transpeptidase, alkaline phosphatase and serum bilirubin of the patients were assessed in pre-treatment period, and at the sixth and 12th months of treatment. One hundred children and adolescents (aged between 3 and 18 years) were enrolled to the study. Results. Liver enzyme and bilirubin levels are higher than normal in 21.0% of the patients without clinical symptoms. No cases of hepatic failure or jaundice were seen. Only in an 8-year-old boy were there ALT level increases up to three-fold and AST level increases up to two-fold. After discontinuation of the risperidone treatment, enzyme levels were normalized in this patient. Alkaline phosphatase, alanine and aspartate aminotransferases were the most frequently increased enzymes. Conclusion. In this study, after long-term risperidone treatment of children and adolescents there was no evidence of clinically significant increases of liver enzymes and bilirubin levels. These results indicate that risperidone treatment may rarely cause serious liver enzyme increases, and may commonly cause clinically insignificant changes in liver function tests

Characteristic features of perpetrators of sexual abuse on children and adolescents in four different regions of Turkey

Objective: Referral of sexually abused children and adolescents to the Forensic Medicine Council showed that sexual abuse of children and adolescents is prevalent in Turkey. Unfortunately, very few studies have examined the characteristics of sexual offenders against children and adolescents in Turkey. This study examined the sociocultural features of sexual offenders against children and adolescents from Western Black Sea, Mediterranean, Marmara and East Anatolia regions of Turkey. Methods: The sex offenders against children and adolescents referred for forensic psychiatric examination to the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry outpatient clinics of University of Zonguldak Karaelmas Hospital, Elazig Mental Health Hospital, Adana Ekrem Tok Mental Health Hospital, Bursa Dortcelik Childrens' Hospital were recruited for the study. Data for sex offenders were obtained from the medical and legal documents of children and adolescents. The sex offenders were assessed for demographic and legal characteristics: age, gender, marital status, education level, substance and alcohol use history and use of child pornography/computer. Results: All of the sexual offenders against children and adolescents were male. In most of the cases the child knows the offender (e. g. neighbor, relative, family friend, or local individual with authority). Females were the most commonly abused, with the percentage of abused females increasing with age. In addition, most of the sex offenders was not married and had low level of education, substance and alcohol use history. Conclusion: Most of the sex offenders against children and adolescents were male and not married. They had high rates of substance use history, low level of education. Further research is needed to better identify clinically significant differences among the different types of sex offenders against children and adolescents in Turkey. Anatolian Journal of Psychiatry 2011; 12:55-61