TUESDAY, July 19, 2005 (HealthDay News) -- Despite its initial promise, the intestinal hormone secretin does not improve autism symptoms and should not be used to treat the disorder, say Australian researchers who reviewed 14 studies involving 618 people with autism.
Scientists led by Dr. Katrina Williams, of the Children's Hospital at Westmeade, concluded that intravenous doses of secretin -- considered by some to be a promising treatment for autism -- did not improve autism-related social, behavioral or communication problems.
The findings appear in the current issue of The Cochrane Library, a publication of The Cochrane Collaboration, an international group dedicated to evaluating contemporary medical research.
Secretin," should not currently be recommended or administered as a treatment for autism," the review authors wrote.
They did not find any serious side effects reported in the studies, but said that, "more adverse events are likely to be reported if secretin is made widely available."
In 1998, a series of small studies at the University of Maryland suggested that secretin might be useful in treating autism.
"Since then, the use of secretin has become widespread, and it is currently being dispensed in many different forms and in countries where it is not licensed," Williams said in a prepared statement.
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