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Alternative
Treatments Endemic Among Autistic Kids
By
Crystal Phend, Staff Writer, MedPage Today
October 27, 2006
SAN DIEGO, Calif., Oct. 27 -- Among autistic children and adolescents,
special diets, vitamin supplements and a variety of complimentary and
alternative medicine strategies are nearly universal approaches, reported
researchers here.
Almost every autistic patient (93.8%) surveyed received some form of
nutritional or dietary intervention, said W. Ben Gibbard, M.D., M.C.S., of
the University of Calgary in Alberta, in a presentation at the American
Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry meeting.
Most had tried many different treatments-the average number used was
9.6-across a wide range of products and strategies encompassing 173
separate types.
The most helpful appeared to be an additive- and preservative-free diet
(more than 80% of those who tried it called it helpful), a chocolate-free
diet (70%), and herbal remedies (71.4%).
Among the most commonly used treatments were multivitamins and gluten- or
casein-free diets.
"Clinicians should inquire about use of complimentary and alternative
therapies in their patients," Dr. Gibbard said in an oral session. He
suggested referencing specific groups of treatments ("Do you use any
special supplements or diet?") while questioning families in a
nonjudgmental and sensitive manner.
The mean age of the autistic children was 8.9 years and 83.5% were male.
Classic autism was the most common diagnosis for the patients (52.8%)
while 6.3% also had epilepsy and 2.8% had a genetic condition.
Diet or nutritional supplementation was tried by 45.5% of the families
with an average of 5.2 different types of these used by each family (range
1 to 28).
The researchers reported:
17.1% tried some kind of omega fatty acid, with 64.3% rating it helpful,
10.2% tried an omega-6 fatty acid, with 61.1% rating it helpful,
10.2% used an omega-9 fatty acid, with 66.7% rating it helpful,
12.5% tried dimethylglycine, with 54.5% rating it helpful, and
6.3% tried Eflax oil, with 36.4% rating it helpful.
Dietary therapies were tried by 37.6% of the families. The findings were
(percentage tried, percentage rated helpful):
Gluten-free diet (23.3%, 61.0%),
Casein-free diet (21.6%, 60.5%), and
Lactose-free diet (17.6%, 45.2%).
Vitamins and minerals were tried by 63.1% of respondents, making it the
most popular category. Nearly 40% had tried a vitamin or mineral
supplement besides a multivitamin. The mean number tried was 3.2 (range 1
to 20). The researchers reported:
49.4% had tried a multivitamin with 35.6% reporting it helpful,
16.5% used an oral calcium supplement with 51.7% reporting it helpful,
14.8% tried oral vitamin C with 53.8% reporting it helpful,
16.5% had tried any magnesium supplement, and
14.2% used any vitamin B6 supplement.
Natural therapies had been used for 40.3% of the children (mean 2.0
different therapies). The most common were:
Herbal remedies (11.9%, 71.4% rated as helpful),
Evening primrose (9.1%, 31.3% rated as helpful), and
Naturopathy (7.4%, 69.2% rated as helpful).
Dr. Gibbard said the findings may have affected by selection biased as
with any postal survey. However, he said the study highlights the need for
safety and efficacy data on these treatments that patients are clearly
using.
While some may dismiss the helpful ratings as placebo effect, these rating
may be better treated as open-label or case reports that can point
research in the right direction, said session discussant Margaret D.
Weiss, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.
"If we've got placebo effects like that in our stimulant trials,
stimulants would be off the market," she said.
Primary source: American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Source reference:
Gibbard WB, et al "Dietary and Nutritional Interventions and Autistic
Spectrum Disorders" AACAP 2006; 33:14A.
*
W.B. ( Ben) Gibbard, MCS, MD, FRCPC
Associate Member, Institute of Maternal and Child Health
Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine,
University of Calgary
Alberta Children's Hospital, Division of Developmental Pediatrics
1820 Richmond Road, SW
Calgary, Alberta, T2T 5C7
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