Multiple doses of secretin in the treatment of autism: a controlled study

What Was Tested

The paper reports a study of Secretin, published as a randomized controlled trial.

Dramatic effects on autistic behaviour after repeated injections of the gastrointestinal hormone secretin have been referred in a number of case reports.

Six children enrolled in a double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study in which each child was its own control.

Who Took Part

The study group was 3 children.

By PubMed's age tags, the people studied were children, both men and women.

How the Study Was Run

The researchers set it up as a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled and crossover study.

Random assignment meant chance, not the researchers, decided who got Secretin and who got the comparison, which limits bias.

Blinding on both sides kept the children and researchers unaware of who received Secretin.

Some children received a placebo instead of Secretin, giving a reference point.

Each person switched between Secretin and the comparison at some point, usually with a gap in between.

What Was Measured

Dramatic effects on autistic behaviour after repeated injections of the gastrointestinal hormone secretin have been referred in a number of case reports.

The measurement instruments were the visual analogue scale (VAS) and the aberrant behaviour checklist (ABC).

PubMed files the paper under topics including Appetite, Autistic Disorder, Intelligence Tests, Secretin, Sleep, Social Behavior and Verbal Behavior.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study of Secretin in 3 children.

With fewer than 40 people, it is a small study, so it is better read as an early signal for further research than as a settled answer.

The abstract goes on to report its results in about 1 sentences; this page does not restate them, so read the paper for the findings and their limits.

The publication is from 2002 (Acta paediatrica (Oslo, Norway : 1992)), a journal based in Norway.

More context: the Secretin compound page, all human trials.