Oxytocin and Autism: add another theory with no data to the talley
23/01/12 16:34 Filed in: autism | Asperger's Syndrome
Another day and seemingly another opportunity to experiment on children with autism.
Legitimate researchers, conducting a variety of human & primate studies, have reported that those with higher levels of the hormone oxytocin exhibit more affection and pro-social behavior than those with lower levels of the hormone.
From these findings, the article in the Daily Mail, quotes a researcher who suggests: ”oxytocin breaks down normal social barriers.” The headline of this article states: “’Cuddle hormone’ which makes mothers kinder could help treat autism.”
Here’s where the trouble begins! I have nightmarish visions of parents paying money to a fly-by-night clinic to administer the hormone oxytocin to their children in much the same way as parents are flying to Panama to shoot their children up with stem cells! The key here is to wait! Research needs to be conducted, published and replicated on children with autism before we start widely administering oxytocin to kids. Let’s try not to have a replay of the secretin debacle!
Legitimate researchers, conducting a variety of human & primate studies, have reported that those with higher levels of the hormone oxytocin exhibit more affection and pro-social behavior than those with lower levels of the hormone.
From these findings, the article in the Daily Mail, quotes a researcher who suggests: ”oxytocin breaks down normal social barriers.” The headline of this article states: “’Cuddle hormone’ which makes mothers kinder could help treat autism.”
Here’s where the trouble begins! I have nightmarish visions of parents paying money to a fly-by-night clinic to administer the hormone oxytocin to their children in much the same way as parents are flying to Panama to shoot their children up with stem cells! The key here is to wait! Research needs to be conducted, published and replicated on children with autism before we start widely administering oxytocin to kids. Let’s try not to have a replay of the secretin debacle!