Antidepressants not recommended for autistic children, finds study

Researchers from the University of New South Wales, Sydney Children Hospital and colleagues in the Cochrane Library have found that selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRIs), the scientific name for antidepressants, come with no benefits for the autistic children.

Katrina Williams, lead author of the study, informs, "Decisions about the use of SSRIs for established clinical indications that may co-occur with autism, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder and depression in adults or children, and anxiety in adults, should be made on a case-by-case basis.”

“Physicians need to be explicit with parents and patients about the limited evidence, risks of SSRI treatment, and other options,” she says.

But the researchers do not limit the antidepressants use among adults as past studies have confirmed some improvement in symptoms and obsessive-compulsive behavior in grown-ups.

According to the researchers, “Antidepressants have become one of the most commonly prescribed psychotropic medications for autism spectrum disorders and the class for which prescribing has risen most.”

Study details
The researchers found five past studies that included only children and two that included adults and examined the effects of the dose of oral SSRI, amongst these 271 study participants.

Antidepressants used in these seven trials included fluoxetine (Prozac), fluvoxamine (Luvox),fenfluramine (Pondimin) and citalopram (Celexa).

The researchers found that none of these drugs that were administered on the patients for 5-18 weeks, had much effect in improving the symptoms in autistic children.

Major side-effects were found in children consuming citalopram and fluvoxamine and those taking citalopram also experienced severe seizures. Antidepressant fenfluramine was associated with weight loss in children.

Among adults, fluvoxamine and fluoxetine reduced obsession and anxiety. No major adverse effects were reported in autistic adults.

The researchers said that there was lack of follow-ups and absence of clinical trials on the other commonly used antidepressants, like sertraline (Zoloft), by the physicians while treating autistic children and adults.

So, the results of the study could vary from patient to patient and more research was needed to ascertain which drugs be avoided while treating children and adults, who were suffering from the autistic spectrum disorder (ASD).

The research, funded by the Children Hospital at Westmead, Financial Markets Foundation for Children and the Australian Department of Health and Aging, has been detailed in the latest issue of the 'Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews' under the title ‘Selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRIs) for autism spectrum disorders.'