Clinical effects of fenfluramine on children with autism: a review of the research.
Fenfluramine helped only a third of autistic kids—mostly those with higher IQ—so don’t expect miracles and watch for side effects.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Haring et al. (1988) read every fenfluramine paper on autistic children. They wrote a story of what the drug did to hyperactivity and repeated movements.
The team did not run new kids; they pooled old trials and case notes. They looked for who got calm and who got side effects.
What they found
Only one in three children got quieter or moved less. The kids who already talked and solved puzzles best had the biggest win.
Many children had tummy pain, mood drops, or heart-rate shifts. The pill looked helpful only for a small, brighter group.
How this fits with other research
Dawson et al. (2000) and Parsons et al. (2013) later swept the same shelf. They found stronger proof for risperidone, methylphenidate, and naltrexone, pushing fenfluramine to the back.
Heavey et al. (2000) gave methylphenidate to thirteen autistic kids. Eight showed the same drop in hyper-movements that fenfluramine once promised, but with a different drug.
Campbell (2003) and Heyvaert et al. (2014) counted 181 and 213 behavior-plan studies. Teaching plans cut problem acts without pills, and plans tied to a functional analysis worked best.
Why it matters
For BCBAs, this paper is a history lesson: drugs can help a slice of clients, but never most. Start with behavior plans, track data, and if you trial medicine, pick ones with fresher evidence. Always pair pill talks with a functional analysis and keep teaching skills; the later reviews show that is the path that holds.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
A review of research studies published to date on the effects of fenfluramine on children with autism is presented. The current status of the fenfluramine research on children with autism is assessed. The review analyzed the methodological aspects of the research, the toxicity of fenfluramine, and the relationship between fenfluramine, neurotransmitter activity, cognitive ability, and subsequent behavioral change. The review of published data indicated that fenfluramine had positive effects on the reduction of hyperactivity and stereotypic behaviors in 33% of the subjects. The best responders were children with the highest baseline IQs. The conclusions address the need for appropriate subgrouping of autistic syndromes, which may lead to identification of responders to pharmacological treatments. The need for further study of the possible long-term adverse side effects of flenfluramine is noted. Further experimental research on the effects of fenfluramine on children with autism is endorsed.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 1988 · doi:10.1007/BF02211954