Secretin for the Treatment of Autism

June 23, 2005 updated by: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)

Multisite Controlled Secretin Trial in Autism

Many drugs used to treat autism target specific symptoms, such as hyperactivity and aggressiveness. Few drugs target the core autistic symptoms of impaired social interaction and communication. This study will evaluate two forms of the drug secretin for the treatment of core autistic symptoms.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Autism is a disorder characterized by impairments of social interactions, verbal and nonverbal communication, and preoccupation with unusual activities or interests, particularly stereotyped or repetitive movements. This debilitating disorder is estimated to occur in 2 to 10 of every 10,000 births. A primary focus in pyschopharmacological intervention has been to treat specific associated symptoms, such as hyperactivity, aggressiveness, and temper tantrums; there are few pharmacologic treatments directed toward core autistic symptoms.

Secretin is a gut hormone with binding sites in the brain. Previous research has described three patients with autism who underwent diagnostic endoscopy for gastrointestinal complaints and experienced dramatic improvement in autistic symptoms following the administration of intravenous secretin given as part of endoscopy. Though the results of this single, uncontrolled study have limited interpretive value, many autistic children have been exposed and continue to be exposed to this potential treatment in an uncontrolled manner. This double blind, placebo-controlled trial will evaluate the safety and efficacy of secretin for the treatment of autism.

Participants will be randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups: synthetic porcine secretin (sPS), biologically derived porcine secretin (bPS), or placebo. Each participant will be given an initial intravenous dose of 0.1 ml of their assigned treatment at the appropriate dose (0.2 ug for sPS and 1 CU for bPS). If no allergic reaction occurs within one minute, the participants will continue in the study and receive the full remaining dose over one minute. Participants will be evaluated one week before and four weeks after infusion for social, communication, and behavioral functioning as measured by Autistic Diagnostic Observation Schedule Generic (by blinded raters); Rimland Questionnaires (by parents and teachers); Expressive Vocabulary Test; MacArthur Communication Inventory (by parents and teachers); and Aberrant Behavior Checklist (by parents and teachers). Participants will also have a physical exam and blood and urine tests. After completion of preliminary data analysis, placebo patients will be offered open label therapy if appropriate.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment

85

Phase

  • Phase 3

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Colorado
      • Denver, Colorado, United States, 80218
        • Children's Hospital
    • Washington
      • Seattle, Washington, United States, 98195-1525
        • Center on Human Development and Disability

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

1 year to 10 years (Child)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria

  • Autism based on DSM-IV criteria
  • IQ > 35
  • Medically fit for the study in the judgment of the study officials

Exclusion Criteria

  • Prior administration of secretin
  • Acute or chronic pancreatitis
  • Use of anticholinergics within 72 hours of study entry or anticipated need for anticholinergics during study
  • Allergies to pork products
  • Use of investigational drug within 1 month of study entry
  • Change in any medication or other therapeutic modality being used to treat any neurodevelopmental or gastrointestinal symptoms of the underlying autism disorder within 1 month of study entry
  • Any medical condition which, in the judgment of the investigator, would make the patient unable to safely participate in the study or comply with all study procedures
  • Any medical diagnosis which could account for autistic spectrum disorder (i.e., Rett syndrome, Fragile X, tuberous sclerosis, disintegrative disorder, epilepsy, Landau Kleffner, other mental retardation syndromes, or history of severe motor delays or current sensory or motor impairment such as cerebral palsy)
  • Hearing or visual impairments
  • Use of psychotropic medications (except for occasional symptomatic use for sleep, etc.) within 6 months of study entry

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Factorial Assignment
  • Masking: Double

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)

Collaborators

National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)

Investigators

  • Study Director: Alan Unis, MD, University of Washington
  • Principal Investigator: Geraldine Dawson, PhD, University of Washington
  • Study Director: Edward Goldson, MD, University of Colorado, Denver
  • Principal Investigator: Sally Rogers, PhD, University of Colorado, Denver

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

June 1, 1999

Study Completion

May 1, 2000

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

August 1, 2003

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 4, 2003

First Posted (Estimate)

August 5, 2003

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

June 24, 2005

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 23, 2005

Last Verified

June 1, 2003

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 5P01HD035465 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)
  • NICHD-23
  • 57-937
  • Supplement CRC99-3
  • 3P01HD035468 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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