Treatment with buspirone in a patient with autism
L. H. McCormick
Family Care Center, Franklin, La, USA.
This study evaluates the safety and efficacy of buspirone hydrochloride for
the treatment of a patient with autism and hyperactivity disorder and
determines the effect of buspirone on the number of performance tasks
completed by the patient at school. A 3-week, double-blind,
placebo-controlled crossover study was performed in a private physician,
office-based practice. A child with autism, which was diagnosed by
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Third Edition,
Revised, criteria, was studied. The child received placebo for 3 weeks and
buspirone for 3 weeks; there was a 1-week interval between the 2
treatments. The outcome was measured by using Conners abbreviated parent
and teacher questionnaires and by determining the number of daily
performance tasks completed by the child at school. Statistical analysis
was performed by linear models and standard F tests. Buspirone was found to
be safe and efficacious, without side effects, for decreasing hyperactivity
and increasing completed performance tasks. The beneficial effects of
buspirone in helping this patient with autism in his natural daily settings
suggest that buspirone may be an alternative to neuroleptic agents in the
medical therapy of autism; further study in other patients is needed.
