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document
Low-dose naltrexone effects on plasma chemistries and clinical symptoms in autism : a double-blind , placebo-controlled study . The effect of month-long naltrexone ( NTX ) treatment at a daily oral dose of 0.5 mg/kg/day was contrasted with placebo ( PLC ) in a double-blind study with conjoint clinical and biochemical evaluations of therapeutic effects . Modest clinical benefits were achieved with both PLC and NTX , with marginally better overall results following NTX , and degree of improvement appeared to be related to plasma chemical profiles . Massively elevated levels of beta-endorphin were observed in all children with assays using C-terminal antibody but not with an N-terminal antibody assay . In addition , 70 % of the children exhibited abnormally low levels of adrenocorticotropic hormone , and smaller subsets exhibited elevated norepinephrine ( 60 % ) , arginine-vasopressin ( 50 % ) , and serotonin ( 20 % ) . The best clinical responders exhibited the clearest normalization of the elevated plasma chemistries , especially in C-terminal-beta-endorphin and serotonin . There was some evidence of therapeutic carry-over effects in both clinical and biochemical measures in those children who received NTX before PLC . The results suggest that NTX only benefits a subgroup of autistic children , who may be identified by the presence of certain plasma abnormalities . These results suggest a possible linkage between abnormal plasma chemistries , especially those related to the pro-opiomelanocortin system , and autistic symptoms .
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Intervention_Pharmacological
naltrexone
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Intervention_Pharmacological
naltrexone ( NTX )
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Intervention_Control
placebo
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Intervention_Pharmacological
PLC
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Intervention_Pharmacological
NTX
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Intervention_Pharmacological
NTX
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Intervention_Pharmacological
PLC
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Intervention_Pharmacological
NTX
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Outcome_Physical
beta-endorphin
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Outcome_Physical
adrenocorticotropic hormone
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Outcome_Physical
norepinephrine
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Outcome_Physical
arginine-vasopressin
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Outcome_Physical
serotonin
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Outcome_Physical
plasma chemistries
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Participant_Condition
autism
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Participant_Age
children
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Participant_Age
children
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Participant_Condition
autistic
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Participant_Age
children