Meta Analysis of gluten and casein-free diet studies suggest potential benefit with little risk
A pre-registered review of studies looking at the usefulness of a gluten and/or casein-free diet for ameliorating some of the features of autism has concluded that the weight of evidence so far favors the use of such dietary intervention. Looking at eight studies that cumulatively included nearly 300 participants, researchers observed that stereotypical behaviors and cognitive functions were the primary benefactors of such dietary changes. Importantly, they reported that such dietary intervention was safe compared to more regular diets. They call for further studies to identify possible best responders to such dietary changes and to shed new light on possible biological mechanisms of effect.
Quan L, Xu X, Cui Y, Han H, Hendren RL, Zhao L, You X. A systematic review and meta-analysis of the benefits of a gluten-free diet and/or casein-free diet for children with autism spectrum disorder. Nutr Rev. 2021 Oct 7:nuab073. doi:10.1093/nutrit/nuab073.
Full-text: https://academic.oup.com/nutritionreviews/advance-article/doi/10.1093/nutrit/ nuab073/6382508
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for anxiety in children: a word of caution
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for the presentation of anxiety in autistic
children may show some immediate benefit, concluded a new review from the UK. But effects are seemingly very much dependent on who rated the intervention and, in the longer term, such an intervention seemingly didn’t show sustained results. Data from studies including over 800 children and young people were studied. Researchers found that clinicians and parents tended to be more positive about the effects of this intervention than the young people with autism who underwent such intervention, many of whom reported little or no effect on anxiety symptoms. Given the very pronounced effects that anxiety can have on quality of life, further research is needed on treatment and management aids for such issues.
Sharma S, Hucker A, Matthews T, Grohmann D, Laws KR. Cognitive behavioural therapy for anxiety in children and young people on the autism spectrum: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Psychol. 2021 Oct 1;9(1):151. doi: 10.1186/s40359-021-00658-8.
Intestinal drug shown to boost memory and cognition
Cognitive issues affecting attention and working memory can be an important feature of many psychiatric and behavioral diagnosis. A European collaboration recently reported initial results following the use of an already approved drug medicine called prucalopride, which targets a specific serotonin receptor and is typically used to treat constipation, with a small group of asymptomatic participants. Compared with participants who received a placebo intervention, those in receipt of prucalopride showed better visual memory/recall abilities. This finding correlated with changes in brain activity specifically centered on activity in the hippocampus, an area involved in memory and learning. Researchers cautioned that further studies are needed with symptomatic groups, but their initial results are promising and could be applicable to many diagnostic labels including autism.
de Cates AN, Wright LC, Martens MAG, Gibson D, Türkmen C, Filippini N, Cowen PJ, Harmer CJ, Murphy SE. Déjà-vu? Neural and behavioral effects of the 5-HT4 receptor agonist, prucalopride, in a hippocampal-dependent memory task. Transl Psychiatry. 2021 Oct 4;11(1):497. doi: 10.1038/s41398-021-01568-4.
Parental Survey: Folinic acid and vitamin B12 are the top rated nutraceuticals for autism
A national survey of parents of children with autism conducting by researchers has found that the use of folinic acid and vitamin B12 were the top rated interventions for autism in terms of effectiveness for affecting autistic behaviors and their risk/benefit ratios. Researchers gauged opinions from over 1200 parents/caregivers on the perceived effectiveness of several nutritional supplements covering vitamins, minerals and amino acid supplements. Folinic acid, a compound with activity similar to folic acid that circumvents important folic acid enzyme reactions noted as being potentially important to autism, is a compound of some research and clinical history in recent times following other controlled studies reporting positive effects on communication skills for example. Importantly also, ratings of the safety and effectiveness of nutraceuticals were greater than previous work by the authors looking at psychiatric and anticonvulsant medicines used in the context of autism.
Adams JB, Bhargava A, Coleman DM, Frye RE, Rossignol DA. Ratings of the
Effectiveness of Nutraceuticals for Autism Spectrum Disorders: Results of a National Survey. J Pers Med. 2021 Aug 31;11(9):878. doi: 10.3390/jpm11090878.
Full-text: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4426/11/9/878/htm
Comments