Abstract
Deficit in social interaction is a primary component of infantile autism. However, in the majority of drug studies, social interaction has not been measured consistently over time. Therefore, we examined, in a crossover design, the effect of fenfluramine on the social interactions of seven autistic children. Social interaction was measured one to three times per week, while the children were in open placebo, placebo, or drug phases of the study. The results demonstrated that the effect of fenfluramine on social interaction was inconsistent across children, with two children possibly demonstrating a tolerance to the behavioral effects of the drug. The results are discussed with respect to genetic and pharmacologic factors.
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Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and The Kennedy Institute for Handicapped Children
Portions of this research were supported by a grant from the Schizophrenia Research Program of the Supreme Council 33; A∴A∴, Scottish Rite. The authors gratefully acknowledge the help of Lynne C. Huffman for her suggestions in editing this manuscript, and Christopher Bogart, Hillary Schwartz, Patricia Hallinan, and Cindy Tilly for performing behavioral observations. The data collection would not have been possible without the active participation of the staff of the MCPS autism program. Finally, the authors thank Seneith Cofield for her assistance in the preparation of this manuscript.
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Reiss, A.L., Egel, A.L., Feinstein, C. et al. Effects of fenfluramine on social behavior in autistic children. J Autism Dev Disord 18, 617–625 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02211879
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02211879