Catatonia in Nodding Syndrome and Lorazepam Treatment

• Status: Completed
• Trial end date: 2013-03-01
• Target enrollment: 0
• Participant gender: All

Summary

Nodding Syndrome is an enigmatic neuropsychiatric syndrome affecting children and adolescents mostly in Eastern Africa. The symptoms of Nodding Syndrome and catatonia seem to overlap. The researchers' objectives in this study were to investigate the presence and types of catatonic symptoms in children with Nodding Syndrome and observe their response to one or two doses of lorazepam, the first-line treatment for catatonia.

• Phase: Phase 1
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers?: No

Details

• Lead Sponsor: Makerere University
• Collaborator: University of Mississippi Medical Center
• Treatments: Lorazepam

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Children and adolescents with Nodding Syndrome as defined by the consensus definition agreed upon in the international Nodding Syndrome research meeting held in Kampala, Uganda July 2012.

2. Presence of two or more catatonic items on the Kampala Catatonia Panel.

3. Written informed consent from caregiver.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Children and adolescents with Nodding Syndrome who had a history of having used a benzodiazepine drug in the past 48 hours prior to intervention.

2. Children and adolescents with Nodding Syndrome who had a concurrent acute illness (e.g febrile illness, pneumonia) at time of assessment.