A Reason for Optimism, or for Heartburn?
Author:
Mack B. Stephenson - United States Naval Hospital
Author
Note:
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed
to Lt. Mack B. Stephenson, U.S. Naval Hospital, Commanding
Officer, PSC 482, FPO AP 96362-1600.
Abstract:
Linday, Tsiourisis, Cohen, Shindledecker, and DeCresce (2001)
recently reported that in a double-blind, placebo-controlled
crossover study, 4 of 9 children with autistic spectrum disorders
showed evidence of symptom improvement with oral famotidine
(Pepcid). This article critically examines their study and
finds significant weaknesses in the methods and measures used.
There are also concerns that the authors did not adequately
protect the blinding of raters, and that this methodological
flaw could at least partially account for their results. The
potential effect of autism outcome research is briefly discussed
and recommendations for future research are proffered.
