Research on atomoxetine in Dutch ASD/ADHD children: The RADAR study

Symptoms of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are frequently present in children with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In her study Myriam Harfterkamp showed that atomoxetine appears to be a promising treatment of ADHD in children and adolescents with ASD. Atomoxetine was superior to placebo after a treatment period of 8 weeks and appeared to have positive effects on both attention deficit and hyperactivity-impulsivity symptoms according to clinician-based ratings, with clearly larger improvements on hyperactivity-impulsivity. There were no beneficial effects of atomoxetine on the core ASD symptoms, however, some indication of benefits through atomoxetine on stereotyped behaviors, inappropriate speech, and fear of change were found. Of note was the observation of further improvement in ADHD symptoms beyond 8 weeks of treatment, even when there was minimal or less response after the first five weeks. This has clear clinical implications in that clinicians should allow sufficient time when treating ADHD symptoms in children with ASD with atomoxetine, before concluding lack of response. Atomoxetine was generally well tolerated. The most reported adverse events were nausea, decreased appetite, headache and fatigue. The data indicated that adverse events tend to diminish over increased treatment duration, especially with regard to nausea and fatigue.
The study was sponsored by Eli Lilly.