Guide to Psychiatric Medications for Children and Adolescents - Medications for Treatment of Children and Adolescents

Written by Glenn Hirsch, M.D.

CLASS: Anti-Convulsants (anti-seizure)

Benefits: This group of medications has been used in the treatment of bipolar disorder and aggressive behavior. Side Effects: Sedation, tremor, gastrointestinal distress, weight gain.
MEDICATION NAME		NOTES
Brand Name	Generic Name
Depakote	divalproex valproate	Well studied in the treatment of bipolar disorder. Has been used as a treatment of migraines. Requires occasional lab tests. May cause polycystic ovary disease.
Tegretol Carbatrol	carbamazepine	Well studied in the treatment of bipolar disorder. Requires occasional lab tests.
Trileptal	oxcarbazepine	A newer version of carbamazepine.
Lamictal	lamotrigine	Appears to be very helpful in treating the depressive phase of bipolar disorder but is not clearly helpful in the manic phase. Very rarely, can trigger a life-threatening rash.
The utility of the following medications in bipolar disorder is still under investigation.
Topamax	topiramate	Does not cause weight gain.
Neurontin	gabapentin	There is some evidence that it can be helpful in treating anxiety disorders.

*The class of a medication is often a useful way of grouping similar medications. However, there is no particular format or rule for this and therefore the class name is somewhat arbitrary. The name

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can signify it most common use (many of these medications can treat more than one disorder), its mechanism of action or rarely some side-effect.

**The brand name of a medication is the name a company will use to sell its unique formulation of a medication. When a drug is first developed it will have two names. The first is the name which describes its chemical structure but is never used outside the laboratory. The second is what will be its generic name. This name will be used until the medication is approved by the FDA and ready to be sold to the public. Once the medication is ready for sale it will be given a brand name. After the patent expires other companies will be allowed to make the medication and it will generally be sold under the generic name. (The following example will illustrate the various names for a single medication. See if you can guess what the medication is from its chemical name: N-Methyl--[4-(trifluoromethyl)phenoxy]benzenepropanamine, Not sure? Its generic name is fluoxetine. Still not sure? The brand name is Prozac.

About the author: Dr. Hirsch has more than twenty-five years of experience in treating children and adolescents with psychiatric disorders. He is Medical Director of the NYU Child Study Center and Associate Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the NYU School of Medicine. In addition, Dr. Hirsch is Medical Director of the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Bellevue Hospital Center.

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