The Autism Market - Let's Learn How to Prevent Autism Instead of Growing a Market for Pharmaceuticals and Genetic Probes

By LIDIA WASOWICZ
UPI Senior Science Writer
SAN FRANCISCO April 20 (UPI) -- An estimated one-third of youngsters with autism are prescribed psychotropic drugs to control their behavior and outlook, scientists report.
The more common pharmaceutical aids include anti-depressants like Prozac for anxiety and depression, stimulants like Ritalin for hyperactivity and impulsivity, anti-convulsants for seizures and anti-psychotic drugs, usually reserved for schizophrenia, for aggression.
In certain cases, these medications can quell such behavioral offshoots of autism as self-injury and severe tantrums, but they do not alter the underlying condition and can wreak havoc with some children's moods and pose other potential risks, doctors say.

"There is no great drug for autism," said Texas psychologist Steven Gutstein, developer of a behavioral treatment called relationship development intervention.

"Children with autism can have other problems that require medication like attentional problems or medical problems," he added. "It's a comorbid disorder, but there's no Ritalin for autism, and there probably never will be because it's a disorder with multiple etiologies."

The drugs that are used are the same as those prescribed for similar symptoms in children without autism, but doctors often find the disorder affects the response, at times making the side effects much more pronounced or the medicine much less effective or both.

Most of these pharmaceuticals are not backed by sufficient science to be approved for such use, and the government acknowledges "much more research is needed" to determine what risks they pose to children and adolescents over the long haul.