Study: Popular ‘treatment’ no help to kids with autism
June 2nd, 2009Drug is known as Celexa in the U.S.
From the Los Angeles Times:
An antidepressant commonly prescribed to help autistic children control their repetitive behaviors is actually no better than a placebo, according to a report published today.
Roughly a third of all children diagnosed with autism in the U.S. now take citalopram, the antidepressant examined in the study, or others that are closely related. The results of the nationwide trial, published in Archives of General Psychiatry, have some experts reconsidering the appropriateness of antidepressants and other mind-altering drugs used to treat children with autism spectrum disorders.
… Dr. Bryan King, director of psychiatry and behavioral medicine at Seattle Children’s Hospital and leader of the study, said he was shocked to find that citalopram didn’t help patients. Not only was the placebo slightly more effective, but the drug’s side effects — such as impulsivity and insomnia — were at least twice as bad, the study found.
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on Tuesday, June 2nd, 2009 at 11:40 am and is filed under NOT2BEMISSED, autism, behavior, drugs, research news.
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