The study covered in this summary was published on medRxiv.org as a preprint and has not yet been peer reviewed.
Key Takeaways
Novel reduced-dose intranasal oxytocin followed by a period of positive social interaction improved symptoms in young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
In the study, improvement was seen in objective and subjective measures, and there was first evidence of improved social functioning using two eye tracking–derived measures.
Why This Matters
There is no frontline therapy to address social symptoms of ASD.
Long-term use of intranasal oxytocin is associated with a reduced response to emotional stimuli.
This is the first placebo-controlled study to demonstrate changes in the the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule–2 (ADOS-2) score with intranasal oxytocin.
Study Design
The study was a pilot double-blind, randomized, crossover trial with 41 children with ASD aged 3 – 8 years.
Participants with genetic disease, chromosomal abnormalities, neurologic disease, psychiatric disorder, or severe respiratory, hearing, or vision impairment were excluded.
Study participants received intranasal placebo over a 2-week period, after which they were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to receive a 6-week treatment of either intranasal oxytocin or intranasal placebo every other morning followed by a 30-minute positive social interaction session.
Primary outcomes were the ADOS-2 score and total score on the Social Responsiveness Scale, Second Edition (SRS-2).
