Objective To investigate the therapeutic effect of L-carnitine on children with autism spectrum disorder(ASD),in order to find the best treatment for ASD children. Methods Totally 60 ASD children were randomly divided into treatment group(n=30) and control group(n=30) from September 2017 to December 2018. The control group was treated with routine special education intervention,and the treatment group was given levocarnitine [100 mg/(kg·d)]. Before and 3 months after treatment,the content of free carnitine was measured by tandem mass spectrometry,and was evaluated by Abnormal Behavior Scale(ABC),Child Autism Rating Scale(CARS) and Chinese Version of Psychological Education Assessment(C-PEP). Results Before treatment,free carnitine was low in both groups. After 3 months of treatment,free carnitine in the treatment group increased to(28.28±2.26)μmol/L,but it was still low in control group [(16.54 ±2.08) μmol/L]. After 3 months of treatment,the total scores of ABC(tcontrol=-6.32, ttreatment=-8.05),CARS(tcontrol=-1.24, ttreatment=-1.38) in the two groups were significantly lower than those before treatment(P＜0.05). While the score of PEP-3 was significantly higher than before in the two groups(tcontrol=-3.584, ttreatment=-4.683,P＜0.05).The total scores of ABC,CARS and PEP-3 were significantly different between treatment group and control group(t=-4.67,-2.43,2.884,P＜0.05). Conclusion Oral administration of L-carnitine in ASD patients can further promote cognitive,linguistic and behavioral improvements.
Key words
autism spectrum disorder /
L-carnitine /
children
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