Mill Creek Watershed and Bryn Mawr Campus
Pond
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a developmental
disorder that has a
major impact on individuals with the disorder, their
families, and
society. In this study we tested the efficacy of levetiracetam,
commonly
known as keppra, an anticonvulsant in a 10 week placebo-controlled
double
studying children. Previously this drug had been shown
to work in adults.
Our hypothesis was levetiracetam may reduce global
severity, impulsivity,
hyperactivity, aggression, self-injury, and affective
instability in ASD
patients. As outcome measures we used Clinical Global
Impressions (CGI)
to test for affective instability and global severity
and the Abberant
Behavior Checklist (ABC) by both the parent and teacher
to test for
hyperactivity, impulsivity, self-injurious behavior,
aggression and
affective instability. We found no positive significance
on any outcome
measure. We did find the children receiving drug became
more irritable
and hyperactive on the ABC-teacher. Levetiracetam
did not appear to be
superior to placebo in any manner. In fact levetiracetam
seemed to agitate
children and make them more hyperactive in some cases
indicating adverse
effects as compared to placebo. I presented a poster
on this project at
Bryn Mawr College on September as part of the summer
HHMI supported
research activities.
