PhD defence S.M. (Sanne) Kloosterboer

Antipsychotic drugs are commonly prescribed to children and adolescents with severe behavioral problems associated with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). For this indication, antipsychotic drugs are the cornerstone of multimodal treatment. However, despite its good efficacy, young patients frequently experience side effects of these drugs. The most important side-effect concerns weight gain, which leads to serious long-term health risks including cardiovascular diseases and diabetes mellitus. Higher antipsychotic dosages are associated with more side-effects in children and adolescents, which suggests that antipsychotic drug concentrations in the blood mediate safety outcomes. Measuring antipsychotic drug concentrations might provide a target to improve safety, as this enables the individualization of dosages towards antipsychotic drug concentrations that are associated with the most optimal treatment outcomes. The aim of this thesis is to improve the safety and effectiveness of antipsychotic drugs in children and adolescents, by individualizing antipsychotic drug dosing and monitoring.

Due to corona, the PhD defences do not take place publicly in the usual way in the Senate Hall or in the Professor Andries Querido Room. The candidates will defend their dissertation either in a small group or online.