It is common for people suffering from autism to find basic social interactions difficult; looking people in the eye, for instance, is often a challenge, as is determining a person’s trustworthiness.  New research suggests that these two symptoms can be improved with the inhalation of the hormone Oxytocin – dubbed the ‘love hormone’.

In a new study in Biological Psychiatry, an Australian team of autism researchers recruited adolescents with Autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) as part of a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, crossover design trial. [1] Subjects received a single dose each of oxytocin or placebo via a nasal spray; both times, the subjects were asked to complete a facial expression task that measures emotion recognition.

Compared to administration of the placebo spray, those receiving the oxytocin spray were better at recognising emotions from facial expressions. This study provides the first evidence that oxytocin nasal spray improves emotion recognition in young people diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders. Due to the small sample size it is likely that more research is needed before such a treatment is endorsed.

In the meantime, the common course of treatment will likely continue in the form of antipsychotics, for treating behavioural problems associated with the condition, including aggression, self-harming behaviour and severe tantrums. Increasing evidence suggests, however, that some antipsychotics may be associated with adverse cardiovascular side effects and arrhythmia (abnormal heart rhythms) which, if severe enough, can lead to sudden cardiac death. [2]

ASD affects more than 500,000 people in the UK. These neurodevelopment disorders include both autism and Asperger syndrome, involving severely impaired behaviour, communication and social skills.  Children with autism also frequently have problems with verbal and non-verbal communication, as well as difficulties with social interaction, lack of imagination and creative play.

Unlike people with Asperger syndrome, who can often lead relatively normal lives, individuals with autism are usually more severely disabled and show quite severe symptoms.  Autistic children can often become hyperactive and aggressive, with seizures common in around 15 to 30 per cent of individuals. In these cases, children are often treated with antipsychotics.

According to a group of Brazilian researchers, omega-3 fatty acid supplementation in ASD patients treated with atypical antipsychotic drugs may reduce cardiac arrhythmias and hence the risk of sudden cardiac death. [3] Using omega-3 EPA fish oil as an ‘add-on’ supplement could therefore help to protect vulnerable individuals from the adverse side effects associated with pharmaceutical drugs that are so commonly prescribed.

The omega-3EPA, in particular, is also gaining much interest for its role in regulating neurotransmitters.  Already praised for its role in safely regulating and alleviating the symptoms associated with many mental health disorders – including schizophrenia, bi-polar disorder and depression as well as a number of neurodevelopmental disorders – it has a role in the management of ASD symptoms. Indeed long-chain fatty acids play a crucial role in learning, memory and behaviour via direct effects on brain function, including the regulation of neurotransmitters, and also indirectly on the expression of genes in the brain. Daily supplementation with EPA can result in improvements in overall health, cognition, sleep patterns, social interactions, eye contact and anxiety.

References

[1] Guastella A.J. et al. (2010). Intranasal oxytocin improves emotion recognition for youth with autism spectrum disorders. Biological Psychiatry. 67(7), pp. 692-694.

[2] Karlsson J, Wallerstedt SM, Star K, Bate A, Hägg S. (2009) Sudden cardiac death in users of second-generation antipsychotics. J Clin Psychiatry. 70:1725-6.

[3] Cysneiros RM, Terra VC, Machado HR, Arida RM, Schwartzman JS, Cavalheiro EA, Scorza FA. (2009) May the best friend be an enemy if not recognized early: possible role of omega-3 against cardiovascular abnormalities due antipsychotics in the treatment of autism.  Arq Neuropsiquiatr. 67:922-6.

The UK Autism Foundation is campaigning to raise awareness on April 2^nd, the United Nations World Autism Day, calling for better education, health services, specialist speech therapy and respite care for children and their families. Amidst growing concern for the support offered to children with autism and their families, nutrition scientist Dr Nina Bailey helpfully describes ways of managing symptoms, including the use of pure EPA omega-3 fish oil, which is capable of moderating the chemical imbalances that exacerbate many symptoms of autism.

Autism, classified also as ASD, affects 1 in 100 children, according to NHS figures, and almost 4 times more boys than girls. [1] Various degrees of autism and asperger’s syndrome – considered a milder version of autism – are commonly grouped together under the umbrella term ASD (autistic spectrum disorder). The National Autistic Society claims that there are 500,000 individuals with ASD in the UK. [2]

Autism principally affects a person’s communication and social skills, though individual symptoms are wide-ranging. Behavioural problems, anxiety or depression, aggression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, hyperactivity and problems concentrating are common in ASD, often causing problems for the child and their immediate family. For these symptoms, there are short-term solutions, and many doctors will prescribe pharmaceutical medications which, although mask the symptoms, enable children to concentrate better and communicate with others.

Autism is a complex condition, however, and not all symptoms are effectively treated with medication, nor do all children with ASD experience the same set of symptoms. Critics also claim that there are substantial side effects with these drugs, including weight gain and heart problems. Professor Stephen Scoot of the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London, also questions the long-term effects of these drugs, which are, as yet, unknown.

What options are there?

More people are taking an interest in nutrition, as well as medical professionals who are realising that the diet has a huge influence on our long-term health. A survey of medical students from UCLA and UC San Diego found that three-quarters felt that conventional Western medicine would benefit by integrating more complementary and alternative medicine. [3] With more up and coming doctors recognising that alternative means of approaching health and disease may ‘add’ to treatment options, we may see a change of approach in relation to the use of medication.

According to nutrition scientist Dr Nina Bailey, “Certain changes to a child’s diet can result in marked changes in their behaviour. As opposed to masking their symptoms, which drugs tend to do, by changing what a child eats we are effectively able to alter brain chemistry, helping to manage any chemical imbalances which may have contributed to behavioural symptoms at the outset.

“What we eat fuels our physiological processes, right down to the cellular level. Omega-3 fatty acids, particularly EPA fish oil, exhibit significant influence over electrical signalling in the brain and the balance of neurotransmitters, which affect concentration and behaviour. As well as increasing EPA in the diet it is important to minimise those foods which upset the delicate neurotransmitter balance in the brain – these include refined sugar added to packaged foods, as well as trans fats found in processed and deep-fried foods.”

Vegepa is a patented omega-3 EPA formulation, renowned for its high concentration of pure EPA fish oil, and is a popular choice for practitioners. With its precise ratio of long-chain omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, it may offer benefits for learning, memory and behaviour via direct effects on brain function, including the regulation of neurotransmitters, and also indirectly on the expression of genes in the brain. Daily supplementation with EPA fish oil is associated with improvements in overall health, cognition, sleep patterns, social interactions, eye contact and anxiety.

To learn more about the role of EPA in autism , visit our autism microsite. If you are interested in exploring the possibility of getting omega-3 EPA on prescription, download our patient pack, which has enabled some people to successfully obtain Vegepa on prescription from their GP.

References

[1] NHS, http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/autism-aspergers/

[2] NAS, http://www.nas.org.uk/nas/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=1738

[3] UCLA, http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/medical-students-say-western-medicine-150587.aspx