Abstract
This issue of the journal contains two investigations related to pharmacotherapy and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) that should be of interest to clinicians and researchers alike.
Thorkelson et al. present findings of a chart review of youth aged 4–20 years (mean age 13.28) with diagnoses of autism, Asperger's disorder, or pervasive developmental disorder—not otherwise specified being treated with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) for anxiety. The authors make a number of intriguing observations that warrant further investigation. First, they write, “the overall response rate of 55% suggests that a good number of families of children and adolescents placed on SSRIs for the treatment of anxiety report clinically significant symptom improvement.”
In addition, and of interest to clinicians who may struggle to find effective treatments for this population, Thorkelson et al. make observations on the response of nontreatment-naive participants. “Our findings suggest that children and adolescents who may have failed an earlier SSRI trial for anxiety might still benefit from a trial with an alternative SSRI,” the authors write. “In this case, 50% of those who were not SSRI-naive were deemed to be treatment responders.” In general, they report that positive response in this study was predicted by less severe ASD symptoms and more severe anxiety symptoms.
Elsewhere, Arnold et al. report on a placebo-controlled pilot study of probiotics aimed at improving gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms and quality of life in children with ASD. The study included 13 children aged 3–12 years. The authors found a “medium effect on GI symptoms and quality of life” and “a significant effect on parent-selected target symptoms.” Outcome measures of interest include the aberrant behavior checklist. The authors write that, “over the 19-week study period, each outcome measure showed improvement over baseline, with the probiotic phase showing more improvement than the placebo phase.”
Also of note in this issue is an article from Darling et al. on a randomized controlled trial of micronutrient treatment for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms, and one from Gan et al. on a metanalysis of vitamin D supplementation, also for the treatment of ADHD.