Randomized controlled trial of transdermal secretin on behavior of children with autism.
Secretin skin patches do not help autism behaviors, so stick with evidence-based ABA.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Doctors tested a skin patch that releases secretin. Secretin is a gut hormone some parents hoped would help autism.
They randomly gave the real patch or a fake patch to children with autism. Then they watched for behavior changes.
What they found
The patch made no real difference on most behaviors. Kids who got the real patch acted the same as kids who got the fake one.
Only a tiny speech gain showed up, and only in kids who took no other medicines. The gain was so small it hardly matters.
How this fits with other research
Hansen et al. (1989) ran a similar drug trial years earlier. They tested fenfluramine and also saw no behavior benefit. Both studies warn that pills or patches rarely fix autism.
Zemestani et al. (2022) tried brain stimulation instead of drugs. They saw clear gains in talking and emotion control. The difference: secretin is a hormone, tDCS is a brain workout.
Zhang et al. (2012) used another skin device, mild electric pads. That study saw small social gains, while secretin saw none. Same route, different result—electric beats hormone here.
Why it matters
You can skip secretin. Save your families time, money, and false hope. Focus on tools that work: behavioral plans, parent coaching like Lindgren et al. (2020), or brain stimulation if research keeps backing it. When parents ask about new pills or patches, show them this chain of null results and steer them toward proven ABA methods.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Previous trials of secretin for the treatment of autism have utilized a single or double dose administered intravenously. This is a report of a double-blind, randomized, controlled crossover trial of transdermally applied secretin in 15 children diagnosed with autism or pervasive developmental delay. Secretin or placebo was applied daily, in ointment form, to the backs of the children in randomized, successive 4 week periods with an intermediate 6 week washout period. Behavioral outcomes were measured by parents and teachers using the Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist. Overall, there were no statistically significant differences in speech, sociability, sensory, and health scores for treatment versus placebo periods. In addition, there were no differences in such scores for children with a history of diarrhea. Severity of autism was significantly greater at baseline in children receiving concomitant medications. Improvement in speech was found during the treatment phase of the trial (p=0.0479 for secretin versus placebo) only in children not using other medications.
Autism : the international journal of research and practice, 2005 · doi:10.1177/1362361305053257