Study type: Human research · Status: Verified against declared source

Intranasal oxytocin versus placebo in the treatment of adults with autism spectrum disorders: a randomized controlled trial

2012

Study scale: Methodological difficulties have limited the number of studies examining the effect of oxytocin on social cognition and function in typically developing humans.

Abstract only: Open source record

Product or molecular entity relationships

Oxytocin: Exact entity relationship. Legacy citation custody associates this source with the catalog record; no product-relevance conclusion is implied.

Plain-language verified summary

Question

There are no effective medications for the treatment of social cognition/function deficits in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and adult intervention literature in this area is sparse.

Methods

This was a pilot, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel design trial of intranasal oxytocin versus placebo in 19 adults with ASD (16 males; 33.20 ± 13.29 years).

Scale or participants

Methodological difficulties have limited the number of studies examining the effect of oxytocin on social cognition and function in typically developing humans.

Key findings

There are no effective medications for the treatment of social cognition/function deficits in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and adult intervention literature in this area is sparse.

Limitations and uncertainty

There were significant differences in performance on the RBS-R lower-order behaviors (t = −2.17, df = 16.78, p = 0.045, Cohen’s d effect size = 0.64) but not on the DANVA or CGI.

Verified against declared source. Verification is limited to the declared source and review scope. It does not mean independent replication or establish efficacy, safety, or suitability.