New Delhi: A common anti-diarrhea drug and two common hormonal contraceptives are among four drugs identified by researchers at the University of Oslo as potential candidates to treat the most common symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
In test result published in the journal Frontiers in Pharmacology Monday, researchers named To treat the most common ASD symptoms, loperamide and the contraceptive progesterone and the progestin drospirenone, such as: Difficulty in social interaction and communication.
A fourth drug, bromocriptine, is commonly used for diseases such as Parkinson’s.
ASD is a developmental disorder usually associated with deficits in social and communication skills. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — the national public health agency of the United States — people with ASD often performance There may also be “restricted or repetitive behaviors or interests” and “different ways of learning, advancing, or paying attention”.
According to the study’s lead author Dr Alice Koch of the University of Oslo, there are currently no drugs approved to treat social communication deficits, the main symptom of ASD.
However, most adults and about half of children and adolescents with ASD are treated with antipsychotic drugs, which have serious side effects or lack efficacy in ASD, Dr. Koch said, according to a press release.
“To identify potential drugs to effectively treat ASD core symptoms, we studied ASD risk genes within a network of protein-protein interactions of gene products,” the researchers said in the study.
“We first defined an ASD network from network-based analyses, and identified approved drugs known to interact with proteins within this network. Next, we assessed whether these drugs interact with genes in the ASD network for ASD. may alter the gene expression disturbance associated with, He added.
“Gene perturbation” refers to changes in the function of genes by external or internal means such as environmental stimuli, drug inhibition, etc.
Anti-psychotic drugs for ASD
The study highlights the need to discover drugs that can potentially treat the behavioral aspects of ASD.
According to the researchers, in the absence of any medication to treat the main symptom of the disorder — impaired communication skills — most adults and about half of children and adolescents with ASD are treated with psychotropic medications to reduce non-core symptoms such as irritability. is treated. Hyperactivity, and self-injurious behavior.
They further write that loperamide’s ability to bind to a specific receptor has long been used in high doses to treat opioid withdrawal symptoms. As a result, the drug is often referred to as the “poor man’s methadone,” the authors said.
Methadone is commonly used to treat drug addiction. The same property may also be useful for treating symptoms of ASD, the researchers write.
She said the role of female hormones remains to be explored as a lack of estrogen in the womb or high testosterone exposure may be linked to ASD. The Parkinson’s drug bromocriptine, on the other hand, has already shown promise in earlier studies, the study highlighted.
“In these studies, the effects of bromocriptine on ASD were compared to the dopamine D2 receptor The antagonist amisulpride, indicating that both drugs had beneficial effects on ASD, with bromocriptine primarily showing a reduction in symptoms of motor hyperactivity and attention, “say the study,” the authors hypothesized that a dopamine These supplements of an agonist and a dopamine antagonist may have clinical effects. Dopamine may be related to similar actions on autoreceptors, modulating dopaminergic hyperactivity that has been postulated in ASD.”
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that has an important role in human functions such as movement and memory. a dopamine receptor controlled Rate of dopamine synthesis and release.
One agonist A drug that binds to a receptor, producing the intended chemical and response similar to that of the receptor. An antagonist is a drug that binds to a receptor, completely preventing the receptor from causing a response.
Amisulpride has been approved for treatment Schizophrenia in many countries.
(Edited by Uttara Ramaswamy)
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