Simvastatin as an Adjunctive Therapy to Risperidone in Treatment of Autism: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial

Ehsan Moazen-Zadeh, Fatemeh Shirzad, Mohammad Ali Karkhaneh-Yousefi, Rasoul Khezri, Mohammad Reza Mohammadi, Shahin Akhondzadeh

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

19 Scopus citations

Abstract

Objectives: Providing novel treatments for autism has been a subject of long-standing research. Based on etiopathological findings, we aim at assessing potential therapeutic effects of statins, here simvastatin, on autism symptoms for the first time. Methods: In this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group 10-week clinical trial, 70 drug-free children aged 4 to 12 years old with diagnosis of autistic disorder based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision, who had an Aberrant Behavior Checklist-Community (ABC-C) scale irritability subscale score of ≥12, were equally randomized to receive either simvastatin (20-40 mg/day) or placebo as an adjunct to risperidone (1-2 mg/day) whereas administration of both drugs was started simultaneously from baseline. Patients with comorbid psychiatric disorders, active medical conditions, severe intellectual disability, seizure disorders, history of any treatments for autism in the past 6 months, or history of current anti-inflammatory drug consumption were excluded. Primary outcome was defined as the difference in mean change of the ABC-C scale irritability subscale score from baseline to the endpoint (www.irct.ir; IRCT201602041556N86). Results: Significant differences in change of the ABC-C scale irritability (mean difference [95% confidence interval (CI)] = -3.45 [-5.37 to -1.54], p = 0.001; Cohen's d = 0.89) and hyperactivity/noncompliance (mean difference [95% CI] = -4.27 [-6.69 to -1.86], p = 0.001; Cohen's d = 0.87) subscales scores were detected between the two arms. No significant difference was detected in case of the other three subscales. Conclusions: This study provides preliminary evidence for potential therapeutic effects of simvastatin in the treatment of autism that warrants further investigations.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)82-89
Number of pages8
JournalJournal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology
Volume28
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 2018
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • autistic disorder
  • clinical trial
  • risperidone
  • simvastatin

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