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Testosterone Regulation and Autism Ranking: Mildly Hazardous Insufficient/Mixed evidence

Current Research

Current Research Studies

We have identified two* studies of testosterone regulation using leuprolide for autistic people published in English-language, peer-reviewed journals.  We have been unable to identify any other studies using other gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists for the same group.

  • One study (Realmuto and Ruble, 1999) used leuprolide to treat a single male aged 24. It reported that leuprolide resulted in suppression of sexually inappropriate behaviours, such as masturbating in public.
  • One study (Geier and Geier, 2006) combined leuprolide, DMSA (a chelating agent) and a range of other dietary supplements to treat 11 children with autistic disorder aged six to fourteen. It reported that this intervention was associated with significant improvements in hyperactivity/impulsivity, aggression, self-injury, severe sexual behaviors, and irritability behaviors.

*Please note: we have not included another study (Geier and Geier, 2006) which was subsequently retracted by the publisher following extensive criticism.  The publisher’s reasons for retracting the article remain unspecified. However, the Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal states that an article can only be retracted under exceptional circumstances, such as "infringements of professional ethical codes, such as multiple submission, bogus claims of authorship, plagiarism, fraudulent use of data or the like."

Status of Current Research Studies

There are a number of limitations to all of the research studies published to date. For example

  • The study by Geier and Geier (2006) was a consecutive case series of eleven children. The study by Realmuto and Ruble (1999) was a retrospective case study of a single adult.
  • The study by Geier and Geier (2006) combined a wide range of different substances (leuprolide, DMSA and dietary supplements), making it difficult to know which substance, if any, caused any of the reported benefits.
  • The study by Geier and Geier (2006) was approved by the ethical board of the organisation of which Geier and Geier are directors, bringing into question the ethics of the study.
Updated
16 Jun 2022
Last Review
01 Sep 2017
Next Review
01 Jan 2024