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document
A double-blind placebo controlled trial of piracetam added to risperidone in patients with autistic disorder . It has been reported that autism is a hypoglutamatergic disorder . Therefore , it was of interest to assess the efficacy of piracetam , a positive modulator of AMPA-sensitive glutamate receptors in autistic disorder . About 40 children between the ages three and 11 years ( inclusive ) with a DSM IV clinical diagnosis of autism and who were outpatients from a specialty clinic for children were recruited . The children presented with a chief complaint of severely disruptive symptoms related to autistic disorder . Patients were randomly allocated to piracetam + risperidone ( Group A ) or placebo + risperidone ( Group B ) for a 10-week , double-blind , placebo-controlled study . The dose of risperidone was titrated up to 2 mg/day for children between 10 and 40 kg and 3 mg/day for children weighting above 40 kg . The dose of piracetam was titrated up to 800 mg/day . Patients were assessed at baseline and after 2 , 4 , 6 , 8 and 10 weeks of starting medication . The measure of the outcome was the Aberrant Behavior Checklist-Community ( ABC-C ) Rating Scale ( total score ) . The ABC-C Rating Scale scores improved with piracetam . The difference between the two protocols was significant as indicated by the effect of group , the between subjects factor ( F = 5.85 , d.f . = 1 , P = 0.02 ) . The changes at the endpoint compared with baseline were : -11.90 +/- 3.79 ( mean +/- SD ) and -5.15 +/- 3.04 for group A and B respectively . A significant difference was observed on the change in scores in the ABC-C Rating Scale in week 10 compared with baseline in the two groups ( t = 6.017 , d.f . = 38 , P < 0.0001 ) . The results suggest that a combination of atypical antipsychotic medications and a glutamate agent such as piracetam , might have increase synergistic effects in the treatment of autism .
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Intervention_Control
placebo
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Intervention_Pharmacological
piracetam
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Intervention_Pharmacological
risperidone
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Intervention_Pharmacological
piracetam
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Intervention_Pharmacological
piracetam
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Intervention_Pharmacological
risperidone
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Intervention_Control
placebo
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Intervention_Pharmacological
risperidone
32860
Intervention_Pharmacological
risperidone
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Intervention_Pharmacological
piracetam
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Outcome_Other
efficacy
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Outcome_Other
Aberrant Behavior Checklist-Community ( ABC-C ) Rating Scale
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Outcome_Physical
( total score )
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Outcome_Other
ABC-C Rating Scale scores
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Outcome_Other
scores in the ABC-C Rating Scale
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Participant_Condition
autistic disorder
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Participant_Sample-size
40
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Participant_Age
children
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Participant_Age
three and 11 years
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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 disorder