Research summaries for autism therapy: double-blind

definition of double-blind: Non-biased method of testing the possible effects of a treatment. In a double-blind test, the people who are rating its effectiveness do not know whether the person they are rating has actually received the treatment or placebo. The person they are rating (who took the possible treatment) also does not know.
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A Placebo-Controlled, Fixed-Dose Study of Aripiprazole in Children and Adolescents with Irritability Associated with Autistic Disorder, Summarized May 13, 2010

Aripiprazole may help to treat irritability in children with autism.

This double-blind, placebo-controlled study compared the atypical antipsychotic aripiprazole with placebo in terms of being able to reduce irritability in children (aged 6 to 17 years) with autism. This eight week study found that aripiprazole was able to reduce irritability in children with autism. Children who received aripiprazole also had decreased hyperactivity. There was a high placebo response rate of 35% on this study. The authors also note that this was a fixed-dose study and therefore doctors were not able to change the dose of the drug based upon the patient’s response to the drug.

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Secretin Is an Ineffective Treatment for Pervasive Developmental Disabilities: A Review of 15 Double-Blind Randomized Controlled Trials, Summarized Oct 13, 2009

Secretin therapy may result in short term improvement of language and social problems in children with autism.

Secretin is a hormone produced by the gastrointestinal tract that helps the body to digest food. Secretin has been proposed as a therapy to treat autism This review article includes 15 studies of secretin therapy for children with autism. All 15 studies were double-blind, randomized, and placebo-controlled. None of the studies showed that secretin therapy could help children with autism. Some of the studies showed that language and social skills did get better, but the improvements did not last long. Four studies said that secretin may help children with autism who also have gut problems, but the data in these studies were not strong.

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Placebo Effects in Developmental Disabilities: Implications for Research and Practice, Summarized Sep 18, 2009

Placebo (sugar pill) effects seen in some studies of autism drug therapy need to be explored more, and may be helpful for autism therapy.

In placebo-controlled studies, patients on drug therapy are compared to patients taking a placebo. Often the patient and the researcher do not know who gets the placebo (double-blind). Usually researchers expect that the placebo will be a control, and will have no effect. But placebo groups have shown improvements in several studies of brain disorders in children.... Read more...

Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study of Amantadine Hydrochloride in the Treatment of Children with Autistic Disorder, Summarized Sep 16, 2009

Amantadine may improve behaviors in some children with autism.

This article reported results of a double-blind, placebo-controlled study of amantadine (drug that acts on the brain). There were 39 children (5-19 years old) in the study. Children received either amantadine (2.5 mg/kg for one week, and then 5.0 mg/kg for 3 weeks) or placebo (sugar pill). The researchers measured the children's behaviors using one standard test and the parents measured behaviors using a different standard test.... Read more...

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