Oxytocin is a natural hormone in the human body that has been linked to social ties such as romantic coupling, or parent-child bonding, Philly.com reports.
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The finding paves the way for the first medicine that could ease the difficulty many autistic children have in interacting.
Doctors usually recommend behavioral therapies, but in spite of their effectiveness in correcting emotional and social impairments, they are rather time consuming – 40 hours per week – costly and showing mixed outcomes. While there were side effects such as constipation, urination and thirstiness, the improvements were very significant compared to the kids who did not receive the oxytocin nasal sprays.
The University of Sydney’s Brain and Mind Centre study involved 31 children, aged three to eight, with autism receiving a twice daily dose of oxytocin for five weeks.
A study is the first one that showed a drug treatment improving the condition of children with autism, researchers said. According to Inga Neumann, oxytocin affects social and emotional reactions causing relaxation, a sense of trust, and mental alertness. They say that it could actually improve social skills.
“We found that following oxytocin treatment, parents reported their child to be more socially responsive at home”, he said. The next step in the research is to understand exactly how oxytocin changes brain circuitry to improve social behavior, and to document how related treatments might be used to boost established social learning interventions.
However, she added that “oxytocin does not improve all symptoms of autism”.
The authors of this study found that the oxytocin triggered changes in parts of the brain that are responsible for social behavior. It is the first time a medical treatment has been shown to have a positive effect on the social impairments commonly seen in autistic children. It also could be used to enhance the long-term benefits of other common therapies.
Dr. Andrew Adesman is chief of developmental and behavioral pediatrics at Cohen Children’s Medical Center of New York, in New Hyde Park. All these results were satisfying and will lead to further studies.
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“We used a few of the most widely used assessments of social responsiveness for children with autism”, Guastella said. It’s also the 1st clinical trial which is studying the tolerability, efficacy & safety of oxytocin that is intranasal-administered. In research published today in Translational Psychiatry, scientists from the University of British Columbia and the University of Freiburg pinpointed a genetic variant that is associated with sensitivity to oxytocin.
