Medication Strategies for Treating Aggressive Behavior in Youth With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

October 29, 2013 updated by: Stony Brook University

Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial of Flexible Dose Divalproex Sodium Adjunctive to Stimulant Treatment for Aggressive Children With Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

This study will assess whether adding a mood stabilizer, divalproex sodium, to stimulant treatment is more effective than stimulant treatment alone in reducing aggressive behavior among children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

ADHD is one of the most common childhood mental disorders. It often causes impaired functioning in multiple areas, including home, school, and peer relationships. Additionally, children with ADHD often develop aggressive behavior, which is not usually adequately suppressed by standard stimulant treatments for ADHD. In order to address this problem, many physicians prescribe multiple medications at once. There is no clinical evidence, however, proving that this method is safe and effective. This study will assess whether adding a mood stabilizer, divalproex sodium, to stimulant treatment is more effective than stimulant treatment alone in reducing aggressive behavior among children with ADHD.

Participants in this double blind study will first receive open label stimulant treatment for ADHD and a comorbid disruptive behavior disorder. Participants whose aggressive behavior subsides with stimulant treatment alone will not proceed into the next phase of the study. Participants whose ADHD symptoms lessen from the treatment but whose aggressive behavior persists will be randomly assigned to receive either divalproex sodium or placebo in addition to their stimulant treatment for 8 weeks. Study visits will be held weekly for 11 to 16 weeks. At these visits, aggression levels and medication side effects will be assessed. Families will also meet with the researchers to discuss the child's progress, and attend behavioral counseling with a therapist. Participants who did not continue into the second phase of the study will be asked to return to the study site for a follow-up visit 8 weeks following the end of the first phase.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Anticipated)

40

Phase

  • Phase 4

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • New York
      • New Hyde Park, New York, United States, 11042
        • Long Island Jewish Medical Center / Schneider Children's Hospital
      • Stony Brook, New York, United States, 11794-8790
        • Stony Brook University Hospital

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

6 years to 14 years (Child)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Diagnosis of ADHD
  • Diagnosis of opposition defiant disorder or conduct disorder
  • Score that exceeds the study threshhold on the standardized scale of aggressive behavior

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Current psychosis
  • Current major depression
  • Current pervasive developmental disorder
  • Current obsessive compulsive disorder
  • Any other anxiety disorder as primary diagnosis
  • Mental retardation

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Double

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Aggression (Measured by the Overt Aggression Scale after 8 weeks of treatment)
Improvement of ADHD symptoms (Measured by the Clinical Global Improvement Scale and ADHD Rating Scale after 8 weeks of treatment)

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Stony Brook University

Collaborators

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Joseph C. Blader, PhD, MSc, Stony Brook State University of New York School of Medicine

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

January 1, 2004

Primary Completion (Actual)

July 1, 2007

Study Completion (Actual)

July 1, 2007

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

September 26, 2005

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 26, 2005

First Posted (Estimate)

September 28, 2005

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

October 31, 2013

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

October 29, 2013

Last Verified

October 1, 2013

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • K23MH064975 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)
  • M01RR010710 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)
  • DSIR CT-M1

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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