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document
Safety and efficacy of donepezil in children and adolescents with autism : neuropsychological measures . OBJECTIVE There has been recent interest in the use of cognitive enhancing drugs , such as cholinesterase inhibitors , as a possible treatment for executive functioning ( EF ) deficits in autism spectrum disorder ( ASD ) . The goal of this study was to assess the tolerability , safety , and efficacy of donepezil on EF in a sample of children and adolescents with ASD . METHOD Thirty-four children and adolescents with ASD ( age range 8-17 years ; IQ > 75 ) were enrolled in a 10-week , double-blind , placebo-controlled trial of donepezil ( doses of 5 and 10 mg ) , followed by a 10-week open label trial for placebo nonresponders . RESULTS The effect of donepezil treatment on EF was examined . Despite improvement on a number of EF measures , no statistically significant between-group differences were found ( with gains observed for both the placebo and donepezil groups ) . CONCLUSIONS The results suggest that short-term treatment with donepezil may have limited impact on cognitive functioning in ASD . Future controlled trials may need to consider a longer treatment period to detect significant gains on EF measures .
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Intervention_Pharmacological
donepezil
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Intervention_Pharmacological
cognitive enhancing drugs
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Intervention_Physical
cholinesterase inhibitors
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Intervention_Control
placebo-controlled
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Intervention_Pharmacological
donepezil
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Outcome_Mental
executive functioning
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Outcome_Other
tolerability
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Outcome_Other
safety
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Outcome_Other
efficacy
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Participant_Condition
children and adolescents with autism :
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Participant_Condition
autism spectrum disorder ( ASD ) .
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Participant_Condition
sample of children and adolescents with ASD .
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Participant_Condition
Thirty-four children and adolescents with ASD ( age range 8-17 years ; IQ > 75 ) were enrolled