Single injection of secretin does not treat autism

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Single injection of secretin does not treat autism

NEW YORK, Dec 08 (Reuters Health) -- Despite claims that an injection of the

hormone secretin may help autism, children who received secretin in a

carefully designed study fared no better than children who received a

placebo, that is, a shot of an inactive substance, according to a new

report.

Media reports suggested that secretin could help the developmental disorder

autism after a 3-year-old autistic child showed improved behavior and

language skills after receiving a shot of secretin during a medical

procedure. Because there is no proven drug treatment for autism, " unproven

treatments are widely used, " and " thousands of children with autistic

disorders may have received secretin injections " in light of this single

case, according to the report published this week in The New England Journal

of Medicine.

But the hormone is not an effective treatment for autism, the researchers

conclude. " Our results are quite clear. Secretin simply did not benefit

these children, " said Dr. Sandler from Thoms Rehabilitation Hospital

in Asheville, North Carolina, in an interview with Reuters Health.

Sandler and his associates compared a single injection of secretin with a

single injection of a saline (salt-water) solution in 56 children with

autism or pervasive developmental disorder, a related condition.

When compared with placebo, secretin provided no significant improvement in

any of 16 different measurements of the children's communication skills or

autism behaviors, the report indicates.

Both groups of children, those treated with secretin and those who received

placebo, showed improvements in 6 of the 16 measurements, but the magnitude

of the improvements was the same, according to the authors.

Among the children for whom complete information was available, 9 of 27 in

the secretin group responded to treatment, compared to 7 of 25 in the

placebo group, the researchers report. None of the children experienced

serious side effects from either treatment.

But after being informed of the results of the study and of the results of

their own child, 63% of the parents in the secretin group and 76% of the

parents in the placebo group remained interested in secretin treatment for

their children, the authors note.

And despite their negative results, the researchers caution that longer-term

treatment or higher doses of secretin may yield different results. " For

now, " Sandler said, " I advise the families of my patients to take a 'wait

and see' approach. Other studies are under way that should clarify these

issues. "

" It is important to note that other treatments for autism have been

empirically validated, " the researchers add. " These include direct

behavioral instruction to improve social interaction and communication

skills and behavioral and medical interventions for managing the aberrant

types of behavior associated with autism. "

" Pursuing unproven treatments risks depleting the financial and psychosocial

resources of families, " warns Dr. Fred Volkmar of Yale University School of

Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut, in a related editorial.

Commenting on the widespread claims of secretin's curative powers, Volkmar

concludes, " What makes an interesting television program may not, of course,

be the same as what makes good science. "

SOURCE: The New England Journal of Medicine 1999;341:1801-1806, 1842-1843.