Thursday, October 7, 2010

Scientific American Rates the Quality of Research for Alternative Autism Treatments

Scientific American  has published a study which gives a letter grade for the quality of research that has been done on alternative treatments for autism (it does NOT rank the treatment's safety and effectiveness).  Most treatments receive a "C" grade.  The only treatment to receive an "A" grade for quality of research was found to be ineffective in treating autism.  Here is a summary of the grade results along with the treatments' benefits (if any).

"A" Quality Research
Secretin (GI hormone) - no benefit

"B" Quality Research
B6/Magnesium - inconclusive
Dimethlglycine - no benefit
Melatonin - improves sleep
Vitamin C - decreases repetitive behavior
Amino Acids - improved expressive and receptive vocabulary
Omega-3 fatty acids - improved behavior
Gluten-free/casein-free diet - inconclusive

"C" Quality Research - all results inconclusive
Folic Acid
Antibiotics
Gastrointestinal medications
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy
Immune therapies
Chelation

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