Optimal dose of oxytocin to improve social impairments and repetitive behaviors in autism spectrum disorders: meta-analysis and dose–response meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
IntroductionSocial impairments and repetitive behaviors are at the core symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Intranasal administration of the neuropeptide oxytocin (OXT) is a promising treatment. However, there have been inconsistencies in the effects of OXT on social impairments and repetiti...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychiatry |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1477076/full |
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| author | Yingying Zhang Xiaolu Zhang Linghong Huang |
| author_facet | Yingying Zhang Xiaolu Zhang Linghong Huang |
| author_sort | Yingying Zhang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | IntroductionSocial impairments and repetitive behaviors are at the core symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Intranasal administration of the neuropeptide oxytocin (OXT) is a promising treatment. However, there have been inconsistencies in the effects of OXT on social impairments and repetitive behaviors.MethodsA comprehensive search in PubMed, the Cochrane Library, Embase, and Web of Science was conducted to gather randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on the efficacy of OXT in patients diagnosed with ASD up to 11/06/2024. The core outcomes were social impairments measured by total Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) scores and repetitive behaviors measured by the Repetitive Behavior Scale (RBS).ResultsThis meta-analysis ultimately included 12 RCTs with 498 ASD patients. In an initial analysis, intranasal OXT showed no significant effect on social impairments. For a high dose of 48 IU per day, a beneficial effect on social impairments was found. According to the dose–response meta-analysis, the results indicated that higher doses of OXT might be more effective for social impairments. Depending on repetitive behaviors, the overall analysis showed no significant effect, while the dose over 48 IU per day revealed significant results and the dose–response meta-analysis suggested that higher doses could be more effective for repetitive behaviors.DiscussionAlthough these findings show no consistent beneficial effects, the results of the dose–response meta-analysis suggest that high doses of intranasal OXT per day may be more effective in ASD.Systematic review registrationhttps://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero, identifier CRD42024567213. |
| format | Article |
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| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1664-0640 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
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| series | Frontiers in Psychiatry |
| spelling | doaj-art-46ebf86296ec468981dafd0275e5d90c2025-01-29T04:11:09ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychiatry1664-06402025-01-011510.3389/fpsyt.2024.14770761477076Optimal dose of oxytocin to improve social impairments and repetitive behaviors in autism spectrum disorders: meta-analysis and dose–response meta-analysis of randomized controlled trialsYingying Zhang0Xiaolu Zhang1Linghong Huang2Department of Molecular Psychology, Institute of Psychology and Education, Ulm University, Ulm, GermanyAnhui Children’s Hospital, Pediatric Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University, Hefei, ChinaThe Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, Ministry of Education Key Lab for Neuroinformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, ChinaIntroductionSocial impairments and repetitive behaviors are at the core symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Intranasal administration of the neuropeptide oxytocin (OXT) is a promising treatment. However, there have been inconsistencies in the effects of OXT on social impairments and repetitive behaviors.MethodsA comprehensive search in PubMed, the Cochrane Library, Embase, and Web of Science was conducted to gather randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on the efficacy of OXT in patients diagnosed with ASD up to 11/06/2024. The core outcomes were social impairments measured by total Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) scores and repetitive behaviors measured by the Repetitive Behavior Scale (RBS).ResultsThis meta-analysis ultimately included 12 RCTs with 498 ASD patients. In an initial analysis, intranasal OXT showed no significant effect on social impairments. For a high dose of 48 IU per day, a beneficial effect on social impairments was found. According to the dose–response meta-analysis, the results indicated that higher doses of OXT might be more effective for social impairments. Depending on repetitive behaviors, the overall analysis showed no significant effect, while the dose over 48 IU per day revealed significant results and the dose–response meta-analysis suggested that higher doses could be more effective for repetitive behaviors.DiscussionAlthough these findings show no consistent beneficial effects, the results of the dose–response meta-analysis suggest that high doses of intranasal OXT per day may be more effective in ASD.Systematic review registrationhttps://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero, identifier CRD42024567213.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1477076/fulloxytocinautism spectrum disorderASDdose-responsemeta-analysis |
| spellingShingle | Yingying Zhang Xiaolu Zhang Linghong Huang Optimal dose of oxytocin to improve social impairments and repetitive behaviors in autism spectrum disorders: meta-analysis and dose–response meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials Frontiers in Psychiatry oxytocin autism spectrum disorder ASD dose-response meta-analysis |
| title | Optimal dose of oxytocin to improve social impairments and repetitive behaviors in autism spectrum disorders: meta-analysis and dose–response meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials |
| title_full | Optimal dose of oxytocin to improve social impairments and repetitive behaviors in autism spectrum disorders: meta-analysis and dose–response meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials |
| title_fullStr | Optimal dose of oxytocin to improve social impairments and repetitive behaviors in autism spectrum disorders: meta-analysis and dose–response meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials |
| title_full_unstemmed | Optimal dose of oxytocin to improve social impairments and repetitive behaviors in autism spectrum disorders: meta-analysis and dose–response meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials |
| title_short | Optimal dose of oxytocin to improve social impairments and repetitive behaviors in autism spectrum disorders: meta-analysis and dose–response meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials |
| title_sort | optimal dose of oxytocin to improve social impairments and repetitive behaviors in autism spectrum disorders meta analysis and dose response meta analysis of randomized controlled trials |
| topic | oxytocin autism spectrum disorder ASD dose-response meta-analysis |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1477076/full |
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