TY - JOUR
T1 - Naltrexone in Autistic Children
T2 - Behavioral Symptoms and Attentional Learning
AU - CAMPBELL, MAGDA
AU - ANDERSON, LOWELL T.
AU - SMALL, ARTHUR M.
AU - ADAMS, PHILLIP
AU - GONZALEZ, NILDA M.
AU - ERNST, MONTIQUE
PY - 1993
Y1 - 1993
N2 - To assess critically the short-term efficacy and safety of naltrexone in autistic children and its effects on discrimination learning in the laboratory. A parallel group design was employed. After a 2-week placebo baseline period, children were randomly assigned either to naltrexone or to placebo for a period of 3 weeks followed by a one-week posttreatment placebo period. Multiple raters and rating scales were employed in a variety of conditions. Forty-one children, all inpatients, ages 2.9 to 7.8 years, completed the study. Naltrexone reduced hyperactivity and had no effect on discrimination learning in the laboratory. There was a suggestion that it had a beneficial effect on decreasing self-injurious behavior. Untoward effects were mild and transient. In the present study, naltrexone significantly reduced only hyperactivity, and no serious untoward effects were observed. The effectiveness of naltrexone in the treatment of autism and self-injurious behavior requires additional assessment in a sample of children with moderate to severe self-injurious behavior. J. Am. Acad. Child Adolesc. Psychiatry, 1993, 32, 6:1283–1291.
AB - To assess critically the short-term efficacy and safety of naltrexone in autistic children and its effects on discrimination learning in the laboratory. A parallel group design was employed. After a 2-week placebo baseline period, children were randomly assigned either to naltrexone or to placebo for a period of 3 weeks followed by a one-week posttreatment placebo period. Multiple raters and rating scales were employed in a variety of conditions. Forty-one children, all inpatients, ages 2.9 to 7.8 years, completed the study. Naltrexone reduced hyperactivity and had no effect on discrimination learning in the laboratory. There was a suggestion that it had a beneficial effect on decreasing self-injurious behavior. Untoward effects were mild and transient. In the present study, naltrexone significantly reduced only hyperactivity, and no serious untoward effects were observed. The effectiveness of naltrexone in the treatment of autism and self-injurious behavior requires additional assessment in a sample of children with moderate to severe self-injurious behavior. J. Am. Acad. Child Adolesc. Psychiatry, 1993, 32, 6:1283–1291.
KW - autism
KW - discrimination learning
KW - naltrexone
KW - self-injurious behavior
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U2 - 10.1097/00004583-199311000-00024
DO - 10.1097/00004583-199311000-00024
M3 - Article
C2 - 8282676
AN - SCOPUS:0027440466
VL - 32
SP - 1283
EP - 1291
JO - Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
JF - Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
SN - 0890-8567
IS - 6
ER -