Mobility for All?

Abstract

Substantial numbers of children and adolescents are treated with second-generation antipsychotic medications (SGAs), and the cardiometabolic adverse effects of this medication class have raised concerns.¹ In the October 2017 issue of the Journal, Handen et al.² published a 16-week open-label extension study of youth 6 to 17 years of age with autism spectrum disorder treated with liquid metformin after a 16-week double-blinded, placebo-controlled clinical efficacy trial. The acute-phase and open-label extension trials demonstrated that liquid metformin was well tolerated, and significant improvements in body mass index z-scores were observed in the metformin-metformin and placebo-metformin groups.² Handen et al.² concluded that metformin can be effective for decreasing weight gain associated with SGA use and maintaining prior improvement in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder.