Thirty-four patients who responded to treatment based on a less conservative definition of response later received 8 weeks of open-label methylphenidate at an individually determined best dose.
Adverse events such as decreased appetite and increased repetitive behavior and stereotypies occurred mainly with the highest dose, even though it was “not really that high” (0.5–0.6 mg/kg per dose), Dr. Scahill said. Few adverse events occurred in the 38% (25 of 66) of patients who responded to either the low dose (0.125–0.18 mg/kg per dose) or the medium dose (0.25–0.35 mg/kg per dose).