SynthesisBMC psychiatry2020
Pharmacotherapy of restricted/repetitive behavior in autism spectrum disorder:a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in BMC psychiatry, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 29 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
29 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 65 citations in OpenAlex.
- Convergent blood-brain barrier breakdown in schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorders: a systematic review of preclinical animal models.Fluids and barriers of the CNS · 2026Pooled it
- Effects of different exercise interventions on executive function in children with autism spectrum disorder: a network meta-analysis.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2024Pooled it
- Therapeutic effects of antidepressants for global improvement and subdomain symptoms of autism spectrum disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of psychiatry & neuroscience : JPNPooled it
- Influence of n-acetylcysteine maintenance on the pharmacodynamic effects of oral ethanol.Pharmacology, biochemistry, and behavior · 2020Trial
- Review
- Patterns of Psychotropic Prescribing Practices in Autistic Children and Adolescents: An Australian Perspective of Two Cohorts Five Years Apart.Child psychiatry and human development · 2026Article
- The emerging role of gene therapy in autism spectrum disorder.Discover mental health · 2026Review
- Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Clinical medicine insights. Pediatrics · 2026Review
- Deep developmental phenotyping in children with tuberous sclerosis complex, with and without autism.Developmental medicine and child neurology · 2025Article
- Available Treatments for Autism Spectrum Disorder: From Old Strategies to New Options.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- A Scoping Review of the Intersectionality of Autism and Intellectual and Developmental Disability with Social Inequity on Diagnosis and Treatment of Youth.Journal of child and adolescent psychopharmacology · 2024Article
- Contribution of the serotonergic system to developmental brain abnormalities in autism spectrum disorder.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research · 2024Review
- Review
- Updated Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials: Antidepressants for Restricted and Repetitive Behaviors in Autism Spectrum Disorder.Neuropsychiatric disease and treatment · 2024Review
- Cannabidiol is a behavioral modulator in BTBR mouse model of idiopathic autism.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2024Article
- Pharmacogenetics May Prevent Psychotropic Adverse Events in Autism Spectrum Disorder: An Observational Pilot Study.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- The Partial MACS chemical neuroscience · 2023Article
- Pharmacotherapy in autism spectrum disorders, including promising older drugs warranting trials.World journal of psychiatry · 2023Review
- Common practical questions - and answers - at the British Association for Psychopharmacology child and adolescent psychopharmacology course.Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England) · 2023Review
- Inhibiting silence information regulator 2 and glutaminase in the amygdala can improve social behavior in autistic rats.Zhejiang da xue xue bao. Yi xue ban = Journal of Zhejiang University. Medical sciences · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors at 4 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThis paper is a systematic review and meta-analysis of the efficacy of available medications for the treatment of restricted/repetitive behavior (RRBs) in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
methodWe searched MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, The Cochrane Library (Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDRS), the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects (DARE)), Scopus, Epistimonikos, Clinicaltrials.gov, and included all randomized controlled trials published after 1993 that were directed at RRBs in patients with ASD of all ages. We extracted the relevant data from the published studies with a predefined data extraction form and assessed the risk of bias. The primary outcomes were change in restricted/repetitive behavior. We performed a meta-analysis using the random effect model and included studies with given mean and standard deviation. This study is registered with PROSPERO number CRD42018092660).
resultsWe identified 14 randomized controlled trials that met initial inclusion criteria. After closer inspection, nine trials - involving 552 patients in total - were included in the final analysis. The meta-analysis found no significant difference between medications (including fluvoxamine, risperidone, fluoxetine, citalopram, oxytocin, N-Acetylcysteine, buspirone) and placebo in the treatment of RRBs in ASD (P = 0.20). Similarly, the sub-group meta-analysis also showed no significant difference between Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRIs) and placebo in the treatment of RRBs in ASD (P = 0.68). There was no evidence of publication bias.
conclusionThis meta-analysis finds little support for the routine use of medications to treat restricted/repetitive behaviors in Autism Spectrum Disorder. Further research of large, balanced trials with precise assessment tools and long-term follow-up are needed.
trial registrationThe study protocol is registered in PROSPERO (Reference number: CRD42018092660).
Indexed as
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.