ArticleTranslational psychiatry2025
Effect of Alzheimer's disease medications on neurocognitive outcomes in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder and low IQ: a scoping review.
Article in Translational psychiatry, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
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
1 citing paper in PubMed.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundIndividuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and comorbid intellectual disability (ID) are particularly vulnerable to poor developmental trajectories. These individuals are at increased risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD) relative to those without comorbid ID and the general population. Considering that there could be an important mechanistic link underlying ASD and AD, individuals with these conditions may stand to benefit from similar psychopharmacological treatments.
methodsThis scoping review aimed to evaluate and synthesize the evidence on the effect of AD medications on neurocognitive outcomes in children and adolescents with ASD and low intelligence quotient (IQ). We performed the search according to PRISMA guidelines from inception to May 21
resultsTwelve studies met the eligibility criteria. Six studies reported on neurocognitive outcomes from N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist treatment and six studies from cholinesterase inhibitor treatment. Among studies reporting on cholinesterase inhibitors, significant improvement was detected in language (60% of five reporting studies), executive function (100% of two reporting studies), complex attention (100% of one reporting study), and general cognitive ability (50% of two reporting studies). Among the NMDA receptor antagonist studies, evidence of improvement was detected in language (60% of five reporting studies), executive function (75% of four reporting studies), learning and memory (100% of two reporting studies), perceptual-motor functioning (66.6% of three reporting studies), complex attention (100% of one reporting study), and general cognitive ability (50% of two reporting studies). Across studies, treatment with either a cholinesterase inhibitor or an NMDA receptor antagonist was associated with improvements in language, executive function, complex attention, and general cognitive ability. A pattern of significance was detected with age, in that younger children may benefit more from these medications than adolescents.
conclusionThis scoping review identified promising evidence of neurocognitive improvement in children and adolescents with ASD and low IQ following treatment with either a cholinesterase inhibitor or an NMDA receptor antagonist. Considering the lack of FDA-approved treatments for the cognitive deficits associated with ASD and an absence of medications approved to treat core features of ASD, our findings highlight an opportunity for innovative directions in autism research and treatment.
Indexed as
Identifiers
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.