Research suggests nasal spray hormone treatment effective for autism

Nasal spray containing oxytocin, an empathy hormone, may lessen the severity of symptoms in people suffering from a mild form of autism, a study by researchers at the University of Tokyo has found.

A therapist talks with a child at a facility for children with a developmental disorder and other disabilities in Saitama Prefecture.


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The research using the nasal spray to treat adults with mild autism who do not have any other form of mental disability found improved communication skills among the subjects, the researchers said.

The research was published in the online U.S. medical journal JAMA Psychiatry on Dec. 19.

The researchers hope to see continued benefits from prolonged treatment and check on any side effects so it can be used for improving symptoms in an autism patient's daily life.

“It is significant that the effectiveness of a medicinal treatment was confirmed," said Masanari Itokawa, who heads a project for schizophrenia and affective disorders research at the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science. "This could be a step to finding a drug for treatment.”

He added, “Still, there is room for further research as to the effectiveness of the treatment for mentally disabled patients."

It is estimated that at least one in 100 Japanese suffer from some form of an autism spectrum disorder, which include Asperger's syndrome and autism.

Being a developmental disorder, it often causes problems with social skills and communication, and makes patients unable to understand and recognize other people's feelings.

A research team led by Hidenori Yamasue, professor of neuropsychiatry at the university, studied the benefits of oxytocin, a hormone with powerful effects on brain activity linked to the formation of social bonds.

Researchers applied nasal spray containing the hormone to 40 adult males with mild autism who do not suffer from any other form of mental disability. Immediately following the application, they conducted a psychological test to assess to what degree the subject identified the emotions of others--through language, facial expressions and tone of voice.

They found the subjects’ emotion recognition levels improved by about 6 percent shortly after the nasal spray was given.

While the number that could identify emotions before nasal spraying was about 84 percent of the healthy adults, it increased to about 94 percent after the application was given.

An MRI brain scan found increased activity of the medial prefrontal area of the subject's brain, which is related to understanding emotions, compared with the state of the brain before the nasal spray was given.

Source : The Asahi Shimbum , 21st Dec 2013