Oxytocin may be useful to increase trust in others and decrease disruptive behaviours in patients with Prader-Willi syndrome: a randomised placebo-controlled trial in 24 patients

What Was Tested

Researchers studied Oxytocin in this randomized controlled trial publication.

Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a complex neurodevelopmental genetic disorder with hypothalamic dysfunction, early morbid obesity with hyperphagia, and specific psychiatric phenotypes including cognitive and behavioural problems, particularly disruptive behaviours and frequent temper outbursts that preclude socialization.

A deficit in oxytocin (OT)-producing neurons of the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus has been reported in these patients.

Who Took Part

The study group was 24 patients.

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

All patients were in a dedicated PWS centre with more than ten years of experience.

Patients are regularly admitted to this controlled environment.

How the Study Was Run

In design terms this was a randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study.

The patients were allocated by chance, so the Oxytocin group and the comparison group should start out alike.

Neither the patients nor the staff measuring them knew who was on Oxytocin, so expectations could not easily colour the readings.

Some patients received a placebo instead of Oxytocin, giving a reference point.

Behaviours were carefully monitored and scored using an in-house grid as follows: over the two days before drug administration, on the half-day following administration, and over the subsequent two days.

What Was Measured

The subject headings attached to it are Oxytocin and Prader-Willi Syndrome.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study of Oxytocin in 24 patients.

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.

Its findings take up roughly 5 sentences of the abstract and are left out here on purpose; the source paper is the place to read them.

The publication is from 2011 (Orphanet journal of rare diseases), a journal based in England.

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