Movatterモバイル変換

[0]ホーム
URL:

Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
Thehttps:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

NIH NLM Logo
Log inShow account info
Access keysNCBI HomepageMyNCBI HomepageMain ContentMain Navigation
pubmed logo
Advanced Clipboard
User Guide

Full text links

BioMed Central full text link BioMed Central Free PMC article
Full text links

Actions

Share

Randomized Controlled Trial
.2020 Jan 15;11(1):6.
doi: 10.1186/s13229-020-0313-1. eCollection 2020.

Behavioral effects of multiple-dose oxytocin treatment in autism: a randomized, placebo-controlled trial with long-term follow-up

Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Behavioral effects of multiple-dose oxytocin treatment in autism: a randomized, placebo-controlled trial with long-term follow-up

Sylvie Bernaerts et al. Mol Autism..

Abstract

Background: Intranasal administration of the "prosocial" neuropeptide oxytocin is increasingly explored as a potential treatment for targeting the core characteristics of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, long-term follow-up studies, evaluating the possibility of long-lasting retention effects, are currently lacking.

Methods: Using a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, parallel design, this pilot clinical trial explored the possibility of long-lasting behavioral effects of 4 weeks of intranasal oxytocin treatment (24 International Units once daily in the morning) in 40 adult men with ASD. To do so, self-report and informant-based questionnaires assessing core autism symptoms and characterizations of attachment were administered at baseline, immediately after 4 weeks of treatment (approximately 24 h after the last nasal spray administration), and at two follow-up sessions, 4 weeks and 1 year post-treatment.

Results: No treatment-specific effects were identified in the primary outcome assessing social symptoms (Social Responsiveness Scale, self- and informant-rated). In particular, with respect to self-reported social responsiveness, improvements were evident both in the oxytocin and in the placebo group, yielding no significant between-group difference (p = .37). Also informant-rated improvements in social responsiveness were not significantly larger in the oxytocin, compared to the placebo group (between-group difference:p = .19). Among the secondary outcome measures, treatment-specific improvements were identified in the Repetitive Behavior Scale and State Adult Attachment Measure, indicating reductions in self-reported repetitive behaviors (p = .04) and reduced feelings of avoidance toward others (p = .03) in the oxytocin group compared to the placebo group, up to 1 month and even 1 year post-treatment. Treatment-specific effects were also revealed in screenings of mood states (Profile of Mood States), indicating higher reports of "vigor" (feeling energetic, active, lively) in the oxytocin, compared to the placebo group (p = .03).

Conclusions: While no treatment-specific improvements were evident in terms of core social symptoms, the current observations of long-term beneficial effects on repetitive behaviors and feelings of avoidance are promising and suggestive of a therapeutic potential of oxytocin treatment for ASD. However, given the exploratory nature of this pilot study, future studies are warranted to evaluate the long-term effects of OT administration further.

Trial registration: The trial was registered with the European Clinical Trial Registry (Eudract 2014-000586-45) on January 22, 2014 (https://www.clinicaltrialsregister.eu/ctr-search/trial/2014-000586-45/BE).

Keywords: Attachment; Autism spectrum disorder; Oxytocin; Repetitive and restricted behavior; Social responsiveness.

© The Author(s). 2020.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing interestsThe authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
CONSORT Flow diagram. Data were analyzed using an intention-to-treat format with last-observations-carried-forward to replace missing data. For participants with missing baseline data, analysis for that measure was excluded list-wise.SRS-A Social Responsiveness Scale adult version,RBS-R Repetitive Behavior Scale Revised,SAAM: State Adult Attachment Measure,IPPA Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment,WHO-QOL World Health Organization Quality of Life
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Effects of oxytocin treatment on autism symptoms and attachment. Mean pre-to-post changes (change from baseline) on self-report and informant-based questionnaires are visualized for the oxytocin (OT) and placebo (PL) treatment groups at assessment session “T1” (immediately after the four-week treatment), “T2” (at follow-up, one month post-treatment), and “T3” (at follow-up, 1 year post-treatment). Mean changes from baseline are visualized separately fora Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS-A) self-report version,b SRS-A informant-based version,c Repetitive Behavior Scale-Revised (RBS-R),d State Adult Attachment Measure (SAAM) Avoidance subscale,e SAAM Security subscale, andf SAAM Anxiety subscale. Lower scores indicate improvement for the SRS-A, RBS-R, SAAM Avoidance, and SAAM Anxiety questionnaires. For the SAAM Security questionnaire, higher scores indicate improvement. Vertical bars denote ± standard errors. Asterisks (*) indicate Cohen’s d ≥ .50 (medium-sized effect). Circles (°) indicate Cohen’sd ≥ .80 (large-sized effect)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM-5®) [Internet]. 5th ed. Arlington, editor. American Psychiatric Association; 2013 [cited 2016 Feb 4]. 50–59. Available from:https://books.google.com/books?hl=nl&lr=&id=-JivBAAAQBAJ&pgis=1
    1. Bakermans-Kranenburg M J, van IJzendoorn M H. Sniffing around oxytocin: review and meta-analyses of trials in healthy and clinical groups with implications for pharmacotherapy. Translational Psychiatry. 2013;3(5):e258–e258. doi: 10.1038/tp.2013.34. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bartz JA, Zaki J, Bolger N, Ochsner KN. Social effects of oxytocin in humans: context and person matter. Trends Cogn Sci [Internet]. 2011;15(7):301–309. - PubMed
    1. Hollander E, Novotny S, Hanratty M, Yaffe R, DeCaria CM, Aronowitz BR, et al. Oxytocin infusion reduces repetitive behaviors in adults with autistic and Asperger’s disorders. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2003;28(1):193–198. doi: 10.1038/sj.npp.1300021. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Hollander E, Bartz J, Chaplin W, Phillips A, Sumner J, Soorya L, et al. Oxytocin increases retention of social cognition in autism. Biol Psychiatry [Internet]. 2007;61(4):498–503. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2006.05.030. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances

Related information

LinkOut - more resources

Full text links
BioMed Central full text link BioMed Central Free PMC article
Cite
Send To

NCBI Literature Resources

MeSHPMCBookshelfDisclaimer

The PubMed wordmark and PubMed logo are registered trademarks of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Unauthorized use of these marks is strictly prohibited.

[8]ページ先頭
©2009-2025 Movatter.jp