Application of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in the Treatment of Autism: A review of the literature

Introduction: Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are common disorders and are typically first recognized in early childhood. ASDs are characterized by core deficits incommunication, socialization, and behavior with a wide range of severity of symptoms. Although there are no treatments for the core features of ASD but complementary andalternative medical treatments (CAM) are commonly used for children with autism. Recent studies have reported that approximately ۸۸% of a large, geographically diversesample of children with ASD had used complementary and alternative medicine. This integrative review identified the evidence supporting the most common use of CAM byhealth provider s and families of children with autism. Methods: Twelve electronic databases(MEDLINE, EMBASE, ProQuest, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, three Korean databases (KoreaMed, OASIS, and KTCKP), two Chinese database (CNKI and WanFang Data), and two Japanese databases (CiNii and JAIRO) were searched from their inception to October ۲۰۱۷. In this review we will discuss the common use of complementary and alternative medicine(CAM) by families of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). We aimed to summarize and critically evaluate the available evidence regarding the efficacy and safety of CAM for children with autism. Results: A wide range of CAM therapies are used in children. The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine groups CAM therapies into four domains, including mind-body medicine(as yoga and music therapy), energy medicine(as transcranial magnetic stimulation and acupuncture), biologically based(as dietary supplements: B۶/Mg, melatonin, omega ۳ atty acids, turmeric, diet - gluten-free/ caseinfree diet, probiotics, fecal microbiota transplantation), manipulative and body-based practices(as chiropractic, craniofacial massage, auditory integration). The most commonly used CAM treatments for ASD fall into the categories of biologically based practice and manipulative and body-based practices. It is important for clinical providers and parents to understand the evidence for efficacy (or lack thereof) and potential side effects. Some CAM practices have evidence to reject their use, such as secretin, other shave emerging evidence to support their use, like melatonin. Conclusion: This review suggests that some CAM practices may be effective for pediatric ASD. Most treatments, however, have not been adequately studied and do not have evidence to support their use. Although not direct effects of CAM practices,undesired side-effects may relate to the delay or discontinuation of otherwise effective treatments. Most treatments, however, have not been adequately studied and do not have evidence to support their use.