title: Secretin as a treatment for autism: a review of the evidence.
abstract: Secretin is used in the United States for diagnosis of pancreatic gastrointestinal (GI) dysfunction and disease. Repeated therapeutic use has not been approved. Widespread interest in secretin as a treatment for autism followed media reports of behavioral improvements in an autistic child who received the hormone during a GI diagnostic procedure. International demand for secretin soared in the absence of experimental evidence of its efficacy for autism. This review presents a brief history of secretin's rise to popularity and summarizes research on secretin as a treatment for autism. Seventeen studies are reviewed comparing the effects of secretin forms, dosage levels, and dosing intervals on outcome measures with approximately 600 children. Twelve of 13 placebo-controlled studies failed to demonstrate the differential efficacy of secretin. Implications for advocating treatment in the absence of empirical evidence are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI 49008-5439, USA. barbesch@gate.net
authors.forename: Barbara E
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Esch
authors.forename: James E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Carr
mesh_terms: D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy*; D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior / Q000187:drug effects; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005765:Gastrointestinal Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D012633:Secretin / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014481:United States
chemical_list: D005765:Gastrointestinal Agents; D012633:Secretin