Research summaries for autism therapy: secretin

definition of secretin: Hormone involved in the process of digestion that has been tested for as a possible therapy for autism.
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Complementary Alternative Medicine for Children with Autism: A Physician Survey, Summarized Jan 8, 2010

Some physicians may recommend complementary alternative medicine (CAM) therapies for children with autism.

A survey was offered to 3,100 pediatricians and family medicine practitioners, and about 1 out of 5 responded to the survey (539 physicians).... Therapies that were discouraged include chelation (61%), anti-infection treatments (57%), and secretin (43%). Many of the doctors (76%) also urged immunizations according to the recommended schedule.... Read more...

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.... Secretin studies are a good example. From early studies, researchers thought that secretin may have been helpful for people with autism.... Read more...

Complimentary and Alternative Medicine Treatments for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders, Summarized Jan 26, 2009

Doctors and patients may benefit if doctors review the science behind complimentary and alternative medicine (CAM) treatments for autism.

The best therapies for autism are special education, speech therapy, social skills therapy, and applied behavior analysis (ABA therapy). This review article describes the common use of CAM treatments for autism and grades each one based upon the scientific research that has been done. Secretin has been well studied as a treatment for autism and it has been shown not to help. Music therapy, vitamin B6/magnesium, dimethylglycine, and others have been studied a little bit. There are no studies about whether yoga, folate, or probiotics are able to help with the symptoms of autism. Read more...

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