Antidepressant Proves Ineffective at Treating Autism Symptoms

The sponsors of the largest clinical trial of a treatment for autism on 18 February revealed disheartening results: fluoxetine ― commonly marketed as the antidepressant Prozac ― is no more effective than placebo at reducing repetitive behaviors in children with autism.Previous studies had suggested that people with autism benefit significantly from the drug. "Our push behind fluoxetine was made on the premise that the current data were predictive of a larger scale success, so we'd anticipated success," says Mike Snape, chief scientific officer at Neuropharm which, together with the advocacy group Autism Speaks, co-sponsored the trial.Read more at...SFARI, February 2009.