Aripiprazole for the treatment of Tourette syndrome

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Tourette syndrome (TS) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by multiple tics which often persisting in forms of different severity throughout adult life. The prevalence of neuropsychiatric co-morbidity in patients with TS is high. Treatment of TS can involve pharmacological, behavioral, or, in rare cases, surgical therapies. Over the last two decades there has been growing interest in the use of aripiprazole, a novel partial dopamine receptor agonist, as a promising anti-tic agent.

Areas covered: The authors reviewed the available literature evaluating the role of aripiprazole in the treatment of TS and other tic disorders in both children and adults. This includes data from five randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and eleven open-label studies.

Expert opinion: There is moderate quality evidence supporting the use of aripiprazole in reducing tic severity in children and adolescents, however there is a lack of robust evidence evaluating its use in adults, despite expert consensus. Overall, it appears that aripiprazole is a safe and effective treatment for tics. Further large scale RCTs assessing the long-term efficacy and safety of aripiprazole in the treatment of tics are warranted, especially in adult populations with TS.

KEYWORDS:

• Aripiprazole
• pharmacotherapy
• tic disorders
• tics
• Tourette syndrome

Article highlights

• The role of aripiprazole in the treatment of Tourette syndrome and other tic disorders has been evaluated in five randomized controlled trials and eleven open-label studies.

• Based on the available evidence, aripiprazole appears to be a safe and effective medication for the treatment for tics.

• There is moderate quality evidence supporting the use of aripiprazole in reducing tic severity in children and adolescents.

• Preliminary evidence suggests that aripiprazole could also be useful for the treatment of tic-related behavioral problems.

• Despite expert consensus, there is currently a lack of robust evidence evaluating its use in adults.

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to Tourettes Action UK and Tourette Association of America for their ongoing support.

Declaration of interest

The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

Reviewer disclosures

Peer reviewers on this manuscript have no relevant financial or other relationships to disclose.

Additional information

Funding

This paper was not funded.