Psychopharmacological treatment for self-injurious behaviour of mentally retarded

Neurobiological research has implicated the dopamine and serotonin system i n the pathogenesis of self-injurious behavior. The efficacy of antipsychoti c drugs has been questioned. Opened and controlled investigations have show n risperidone is effective for reducing self-injurious behaviour in mentall y retardation. We report a bout 3 mentally retarded patients which were giv en open-label riperidone for 12 weeks. They participated in a detailed asse ssment of behaviour symptoms at baseline and the repititive behaviour was w eekly rated with the disability assessment schedule (DAS). All three patien ts responded.