Beta Blockers in Mental Retardation and Developmental Disorders
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Date
1991
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Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. Publishers
Abstract
β-Adrenergic blockers appear to be effective in the management of verbal aggression, physical
aggression, or self-injurious behavior associated with mental retardation and other developmental disorders.
However, methodological limitations of the available studies make it difficult to judge the value of these
treatments. Optimal doses for treating patients with mental retardation or developmental disorders appear
lower than described in the general psychiatric literature, so low doses of β-blockers may be preferred in such
patients with abnormal brain development. Children and adolescents with mental retardation or
developmental disorders appear to respond to particularly low doses (e.g., below propranolol 150 mg daily).
Propranolol is recommended for central blockade, and nadolol is recommended for peripheral blockade.
Most β receptors in the brain (except cerebellum) seem to be β1 (cardiac type), but it is not clear that central
blockade is required for psychotropic effects. Interim suggestions for empirical trials are offered, and rating
scales and other measurement approaches are discussed. Since evidence supporting the efficacy of
β-blockers in mental retardation or developmental disorders in children and adolescents is not definitive, the
clinician is advised to consider designing an empirical trial for each patient, utilizing pre- and postmedication
measures, when conventional treatments have been unsuccessful.
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Citation
Published version: L. Eugene Arnold and Michael G. Aman, "Beta Blockers in Mental Retardation and Developmental Disorders," Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology 1, no. 5 (1991), doi:10.1089/cap.1991.1.361