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The Pros of Prozac and the Placebo Effect

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Two of the largest randomized control trials of Prozac as an intervention for restrictive and repetitive behaviors were published recently.  They both coincidentally found no effect on the core features of autism, nor clinician rated improvement.  What they did find is a big placebo effect.  That is the behaviors of the participants changed even if they thought they might be getting the medication, but were actually getting an empty pill.  This is a big problem in research in studying medications across mental health.  So why is Prozac so popular?  And when it comes to some features of autism, is the placebo effect so bad?

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31638682 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31267292

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Getting kids with autism to eat

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This week’s podcast combines two important post Mother’s Day topics – parents and eating.  Two recent studies have shown the promise of using parent – delivered interventions to help improve food selectivity and food aversions in kids with autism. These two behaviors can be one of the most frustrating and challenging for parents and kids, and can lead to nutritional deficiencies.  These behaviors can range from mild to severe, and previously, only inpatient or outpatient clinic based approaches seemed to have any benefit.  Now it seems that with coaching, encouragement and instruction from trained experts, parents can help their kids eat better foods.

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31056202 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30101320