Introduction: There are currently no approved drug interventions for social behavior dysfunction in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Previous trials investigating effects of daily intranasal oxytocin treatment have reported inconsistent results and have not combined it with positive social interaction. However, in two preclinical studies we established that treatment every other day rather than daily is more efficacious in maintaining neural and behavioral effects by reducing receptor desensitization. Objective: We aimed to establish whether a 6-week intranasal oxytocin compared with placebo treatment, followed by a period of positive social interaction, would produce reliable symptom improvements in children with ASD. Methods: A pilot double-blind, randomized, crossover design trial was completed including 41 children with ASD aged 3–8 years. Primary outcomes were the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule-2 (ADOS-2) and social responsivity scale-2 (SRS-2). Secondary measures included cognitive, autism- and caregiver-related questionnaires, and social attention assessed using eye-tracking. Results: Significant improvements were found for oxytocin relative to placebo in primary outcome measures (total ADOS-2 and SRS-2 scores, ps #x3c; 0.001) and in behavioral adaptability and repetitive behavior secondary measures. Altered SRS-2 scores were associated with increased saliva oxytocin concentrations. Additionally, oxytocin significantly increased time spent viewing dynamic social compared to geometric stimuli and the eyes of angry, happy, and neutral expression faces. There were no adverse side effects of oxytocin treatment. Conclusions: Overall, results demonstrate that a 6-week intranasal oxytocin treatment administered every other day and followed by positive social interactions can improve clinical, eye tracking, and questionnaire-based assessments of symptoms in young autistic children.
Psychother Psychosom

中文翻译：

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罕见的鼻内催产素和积极的社会互动可改善自闭症儿童的症状：一项初步随机临床试验

简介：目前尚无批准的药物干预治疗自闭症谱系障碍 (ASD) 的社会行为功能障碍。先前调查每日鼻内催产素治疗效果的试验报告了不一致的结果，并且没有将其与积极的社会互动结合起来。然而，在两项临床前研究中，我们确定隔日治疗而不是每天治疗通过减少受体脱敏在维持神经和行为影响方面更有效。目的：我们的目的是确定 6 周的鼻内催产素与安慰剂治疗相比，然后是一段积极的社会互动，是否会在患有 ASD 的儿童中产生可靠的症状改善。方法：一项试验性双盲、随机、交叉设计试验已完成，包括 41 名年龄在 3-8 岁的 ASD 儿童。主要结果是自闭症诊断观察表 2 (ADOS-2) 和社会反应量表 2 (SRS-2)。次要测量包括认知、自闭症和照顾者相关问卷，以及使用眼动追踪评估的社会注意力。结果：在主要结局指标（ADOS-2 和 SRS-2 总分，p#x3c; 0.001）以及行为适应性和重复行为的次要测量。改变的 SRS-2 评分与唾液催产素浓度增加有关。此外，与几何刺激和愤怒、快乐和中性表情的眼睛相比，催产素显着增加了观看动态社交的时间。催产素治疗没有不良副作用。结论：总体而言，结果表明，每隔一天进行为期 6 周的鼻内催产素治疗，然后进行积极的社会互动，可以改善自闭症儿童的临床、眼动追踪和基于问卷的症状评估。
心理治疗师