A double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover pilot trial of low dose dimethylglycine in patients with autistic disorder

As the treatability of the syndrome of autism becomes more possible there i s a great deal more interest in the effectiveness of various therapies. Alt hough the very influential nonmedical literature cited in the Autism Resear ch Review International Newsletter finds that dimethylglycine (DMG) is rega rded as more effective than the usual psychopharmacologic drugs, there have been no studies of DMG using the currently accepted research methodology. We report a double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover pilot study of low dose DMG and placebo in a sample of eight autistic males ranging in age fro m 4 years 5 months to 30 years 8 months, who completed the full 3 1/2-month study consisting of drug-free baseline periods at the beginning, end, and in-between two, 1-month double-blind trials in which DMG or placebo was giv en. Measures included the Campbell-NIMH rating scale, an experimental ratin g scale, and an individualized scale created for each child. Analysis of al l three scales revealed no statistically significant differences, and paren t reports were equally distributed. The major methodologic weaknesses of th e study are thought to be the low dosage of DMG and the small sample size.