Risperidone for Night Terrors and Sleepwalking
in an Adult: A Case Report

Mark B Detweiler

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Objective: To report the successful treatment of a case of night terrors and sleepwalking in an adult using low-dose risperidone.

Case Summary: A 30-year-old female with a history of nightmares as a teen, but with no prior psychiatric history, presented with new-onset night terrors and sleepwalking related to psychosocial stressors. She recalled images of being chased by monsters and of people trying to hurt her. Sleepwalking sometimes involved self-injurious behavior, as she ran through the house screaming. Intake diagnoses included general anxiety disorder (GAD), obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) and obsessive–compulsive personality disorder (OCPD). She reported compulsive counting since childhood and episodes of compulsive eating. Risperidone 1 mg was started and eventually titrated to 2 mg at night for night terror and sleepwalking suppression. For GAD, OCD, and OCPD, paroxetine 10 mg was started and titrated to 50 mg. Temazepam 30 mg was added to prolong sleep and cyproheptadine 4 mg was prescribed for anorgasmia. Symptoms were well controlled with the medications for about 8 months. The patient chose to stop the paroxetine and temazepam on day 655, but continued to take risperidone 2 mg for approximately 45 days. When she discontinued the risperidone, the night terrors and sleepwalking returned within 3 days.

Discussion: Low-dose risperidone has been shown to modulate combat posttraumatic stress disorder nightmares. Its effectiveness for night terrors and sleepwalking has not been reported. In this case, risperidone was the sole medication suppressing night terrors and sleepwalking for a month and a half. As found in previous studies, 2 mg of risperidone seemed to be the optimal dose.

CONCLUSIONS: Risperidone dosed at 1-2 mg at night may be a pharmacologic alternative for the symptoms of sleep terrors with sleepwalking.

J Pharm Technol 2013;29:143-8