Advanced Search

Journal Navigation

Journal Home

Subscriptions

Archive

Contact Us

Table of Contents

Click here to sign up for SAGE Journal Email Alerts today!

Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
Autism
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow References
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Request Reprints
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Web of Science (5)
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Right arrow Citing Articles via Scopus
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Broadstock, M.
Right arrow Articles by Eggleston, M.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Broadstock, M.
Right arrow Articles by Eggleston, M.
Right arrowPubmed/NCBI databases
Medline Plus Health Information
*Autism
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Complore   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati   Add to Twitter  
What's this?

Reviews

Systematic review of the effectiveness of pharmacological treatments for adolescents and adults with autism spectrum disorder

Marita Broadstock

NZHTA, University of Otago, New Zealand, marita.broadstock{at}chmeds.ac.nz

Carolyn Doughty

NZHTA, University of Otago, New Zealand

Matt Eggleston

Christchurch District Health Board, New Zealand

The variable expression of autism over the lifespan is likely to lead to different symptoms and support requirements, and to distinct responses to pharmacotherapy treatment, in older patients compared to children. This systematic review considers the effectiveness of pharmacological treatment in managing autism spectrum disorder in adolescents and adults. Following a comprehensive search of literature published in English from 1980, methodological criteria were applied to identify studies designed to reliably assess treatment effectiveness. Only five double-blind, randomized controlled trials were eligible for appraisal. All had small sample sizes (mean = 30) and brief treatment duration of no more than 12 weeks. The paucity of trials and their methodological limitations means that there is only preliminary evidence about the short-term effectiveness of a few drug treatments for this age group. There was also a lack of reliable data reported on drug safety profiles. Methodological challenges and directions for future research are discussed.

Key Words: adolescent • adult • autistic disorder • drug therapies • systematic review

Autism, Vol. 11, No. 4, 335-348 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/1362361307078132
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Complore Complore   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati   Add to Twitter Twitter    What's this?