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Branched-chain amino acids as adjunctive-alternative treatment in patients with autism: a pilot study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 July 2023

Despoina D. Aspragkathou ,
Martha G. Spilioti ,
Anastasia Gkampeta ,
Efterpi Dalpa ,
Vasiliki Holeva ,
Maria T. Papadopoulou ,
Aspasia Serdari ,
Vaios Dafoulis ,
Dimitrios I. Zafeiriou  and
Athanasios E. Evangeliou Open the ORCID record for Athanasios E. Evangeliou [Opens in a new window]
Despoina D. Aspragkathou
Affiliation:
Department of Pediatrics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Medical School, Papageorgiou Hospital, Efkarpia, 56403 Thessaloniki, Greece
Martha G. Spilioti
Affiliation:
Department of Neurology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Medical School, AHEPA Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece
Anastasia Gkampeta
Affiliation:
Department of Pediatrics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Medical School, Papageorgiou Hospital, Efkarpia, 56403 Thessaloniki, Greece
Efterpi Dalpa
Affiliation:
Department of Pediatrics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Medical School, Papageorgiou Hospital, Efkarpia, 56403 Thessaloniki, Greece
Vasiliki Holeva
Affiliation:
Psychiatric Clinic, Papageorgiou Hospital, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Medical School, Thessaloniki, Greece
Maria T. Papadopoulou
Affiliation:
Department of Pediatrics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Medical School, Papageorgiou Hospital, Efkarpia, 56403 Thessaloniki, Greece
Aspasia Serdari
Affiliation:
Psychiatric Clinic, University Hospital of Alexandroupolis, Thrace University, Medical School, Alexandroupolis, Greece
Vaios Dafoulis
Affiliation:
Psychiatric Clinic of the Hippokration Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece
Dimitrios I. Zafeiriou
Affiliation:
Department of Pediatrics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Medical School, Hippokration Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece
Athanasios E. Evangeliou*
Affiliation:
Department of Pediatrics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Medical School, Papageorgiou Hospital, Efkarpia, 56403 Thessaloniki, Greece
*
*Corresponding author: Athanasios E. Evangeliou, email aeevange@auth.gr
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Abstract

The branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) is a group of essential amino acids that are involved in maintaining the energy balance of a human being as well as the homoeostasis of GABAergic, glutamatergic, serotonergic and dopaminergic systems. Disruption of these systems has been associated with the pathophysiology of autism while low levels of these amino acids have been discovered in patients with autism. A pilot open-label, prospective, follow-up study of the use of BCAA in children with autistic behaviour was carried out. Fifty-five children between the ages of 6 and 18 participated in the study from May 2015 to May 2018. We used a carbohydrate-free BCAA-powdered mixture containing 45·5 g of leucine, 30 g of isoleucine and 24·5 g of valine in a daily dose of 0·4 g/kg of body weight which was administered every morning. Following the initiation of BCAA administration, children were submitted to a monthly psychological examination. Beyond the 4-week mark, BCAA were given to thirty-two people (58·18 %). Six of them (10·9 %) discontinued after 4–10 weeks owing to lack of improvement. The remaining twenty-six children (47·27 %) who took BCAA for longer than 10 weeks displayed improved social behaviour and interactions, as well as improvements in their speech, cooperation, stereotypy and, principally, their hyperactivity. There were no adverse reactions reported during the course of the treatment. Although these data are preliminary, there is some evidence that BCAA could be used as adjunctive treatment to conventional therapeutic methods for the management of autism.

Keywords

Branched-chain amino acidsAutismGlutamateSerotoninBrain energy balance
Type
Research Article
Information
British Journal of Nutrition , Volume 131 , Issue 1 , 14 January 2024 , pp. 73 - 81
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Nutrition Society

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