A chemical derived from broccoli sprouts could be an effective method for treating autism spectrum disorders (ASDs).
Patients who received a daily dose of the chemical sulforaphane tended to show improvements in their social interactions, communication skills and decreases in ritualistic behaviors when compared to a placebo group, Johns Hopkins Medicine reported. Fevers have been known to reduce symptoms of autism by initiating the body's natural heat-shock response; sulforaphane is known to have the same effect.
"We believe that this may be preliminary evidence for the first treatment for autism that improves symptoms by apparently correcting some of the underlying cellular problems," said Dr. Paul Talalay, professor of pharmacology and molecular sciences.
"We are far from being able to declare a victory over autism, but this gives us important insights into what might help," added co-investigator Dr. Andrew Zimmerman, now a professor of pediatric neurology at UMass Memorial Medical Center.
To make their findings the researchers looked at 40 males between the ages of 13 and 27 who struggled with moderate to severe autism. Participants were asked to fill out three standard behavioral assessments: the Aberrant Behavior Checklist (ABC), the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) and the Clinical Global Impressions-Improvement scale (CGI-I). Twenty-six of the subjects were randomly selected to receive between nine and 27 milligrams of sulforaphane daily based on their weight. During treatment, the behavioral assessments were repeated at four, 10 and 18 weeks.
The non-placebo participants showed improvements in "irritability, lethargy, repetitive movements, hyperactivity, awareness, communication, motivation and mannerisms" as well as social behavior and communication. The participants tended to move back toward their original behaviors soon after they stopped taking the chemical.
"It seems like sulforaphane is temporarily helping cells to cope with their handicaps," Talalay said.
The findings were published Oct. 3 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
