Galantamine Versus Placebo in Childhood Autism

Summary

Autism is a severe neurodevelopmental disorder that affects up to 16 in 10,000 individuals. It is a pervasive developmental disorder affecting social, communicative, and compulsive/repetitive behaviors characterized by stereotypic complex hand and body movements, craving for sameness, and narrow repetitive interests. Autism severely impacts both the affected individual and family members. The proposed study is designed to assess the efficacy of treatment with Galantamine vs. placebo in childhood/adolescent autism fulfilling DSM-IV and Autism Diagnostic Interview (ADI) criteria. We therefore hypothesize: 1. Galantamine will be superior to placebo in the acute treatment of global autism. 2. Galantamine will be superior to placebo in improving functional ability. 3. Galantamine will be superior to placebo in improving language function. 4. Galantamine will be superior to placebo improving irritable and hyperactive behavior. 5. Galantamine will be superior to placebo in improving social deficits.

Timeline

Start

2004-04

Primary completion

—

Completion

2007-04

Publications

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• Background Greenspan, S.I. & Wieder, S. Developmental patterns and outcomes in infants and children with disorders in relating and communicating A chart review of 200 cases of children with autistic spectrum diagnoses. J Dev Learning Disord, 1997;1:87-141.
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• Background Perry EK, Lee ML, Martin-Ruiz CM, Court JA, Volsen SG, Merrit J, Folly E, Iversen PE, Bauman ML, Perry RH, Wenk GL. Cholinergic activity in autism: abnormalities in the cerebral cortex and basal forebrain. Am J Psychiatry. 2001 Jul;158(7):1058-66. doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.158.7.1058.
• Background Ritvo ER, Mason-Brothers A, Freeman BJ, Pingree C, Jenson WR, McMahon WM, Petersen PB, Jorde LB, Mo A, Ritvo A. The UCLA-University of Utah epidemiologic survey of autism: the etiologic role of rare diseases. Am J Psychiatry. 1990 Dec;147(12):1614-21. doi: 10.1176/ajp.147.12.1614.
• Background Rutter M. The development of infantile autism. Psychol Med. 1974 May;4(2):147-63. doi: 10.1017/s0033291700041982. No abstract available.
• Background Steffenburg S. Neuropsychiatric assessment of children with autism: a population-based study. Dev Med Child Neurol. 1991 Jun;33(6):495-511. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-8749.1991.tb14915.x.
• Background Thal DJ, O'Hanlon L, Clemmons M, Fralin L. Validity of a parent report measure of vocabulary and syntax for preschool children with language impairment. J Speech Lang Hear Res. 1999 Apr;42(2):482-96. doi: 10.1044/jslhr.4202.482.
• Background Voelker SL, Shore DL, Brown-More C, Hill LC, Miller LT, Perry J. Validity of self-report of adaptive behavior skills by adults with mental retardation. Ment Retard. 1990 Oct;28(5):305-9.
• Background Woodruff-Pak DS, Vogel RW 3rd, Wenk GL. Galantamine: effect on nicotinic receptor binding, acetylcholinesterase inhibition, and learning. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2001 Feb 13;98(4):2089-94. doi: 10.1073/pnas.98.4.2089. Epub 2001 Feb 6.
• Ure A, Cox GR, Haslam R, Williams K. Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors for autistic spectrum disorders. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2023 Jun 1;6(6):CD013851. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD013851.pub2.

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Indications