Immune Globulins and Autism
Ranking:
Current Research
Current Research Studies
We have identified seven studies of immunoglobulins as a treatment for autistic people published in English-language, peer-reviewed journals. These studies included more than 190 individuals aged from 2-17.
- Three studies (Boris et al, 1996; Gupta et al, 1996; Schneider, 2006) reported significant improvements in a range of areas including an increase in social communication skills (such as speech), a decrease in gastrointestinal symptoms (such as diarrhoea), and a reduction in challenging behaviours (such as irritability).
- Three studies (DelGiudice-Asch et al, 1999; Handen et al, 2009; Plioplys, 1998) reported no effects.
- One study (Niederhofer et al 2003; reported limited/mixed results).
The most rigorous of these studies was Handen et al (2009) which stated that “Endpoint analysis revealed no significant differences across treatment groups on a modified global improvement scale (validated in irritable bowel syndrome studies), number of daily bowel movements, days of constipation, or severity of problem behaviors.”
Status of Current Research Studies
There are a number of limitations to all of the research studies published to date. For example,
- Four of the studies (DelGiudice-Asch et al, 1999; Niederhofer et al, 2003; Plioplys, 1998; Schneider et al 2006)) had less than 20 participants.
- Four of the studies (Boris et al 2006; DelGiudice-Asch et al, 1999; Plioplys, 1998; Schneider et al 2006) were open label, that is non-blinded trials, and none of them had a comparison control group.
- One of the studies (Gupta et al, 1996) was a retrospective case series which used arbitrary, non-standard outcome measures.
- The study by Niederhofer et al, 2003 was reported in a letter to a journal, rather than being a detailed write up of the intervention.
- In one of the studies (Schneider et al, 2006) the participants were taking a wide range of other substances including various vitamins, minerals and other dietary supplements, making it difficult to know what caused the reported benefits.
- The authors of the single, large, randomised trial (Handen et al, 2009) listed a number of potential limitations to their study including the lack of evaluation by a gastroenterologist at the start of the study.
For a comprehensive list of potential flaws in research studies, please see ‘Why some autism research studies are flawed’.
- Updated
- 16 Jun 2022
- Last Review
- 31 May 2018
- Next Review
- 01 Jun 2024