“It is called palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) and is a lipid molecule with an important role in the control of inflammatory phenomena that has been shown to be effective and safe in improving the effects on symptoms of irritability and hyperactivity in children with autism. Its effectiveness has been demonstrated by a study published in the Journal of Psychiatry Research “. This was stated by Luca Steardo, Professor at the Physiology and Pharmacology Department of the La Sapienza University of Rome who, in view of the World Day for Awareness on Autism, takes stock of the research.
The results of the study published in the Journal of Psychiatry Research, which examined 70 pediatric patients, aged between 4 and 12 years, diagnosed with Autism, explains Steardo, “are very encouraging; 62 patients completed the Treatment. At the end of treatment, the combination of PEA and risperidone showed a statistically significantly superior effect compared to the therapeutic regimen with risperidone and placebo with regard to symptoms of irritability and hyperactivity. The effect of the combined treatment on hyperactivity it was already visible after only 5 weeks of treatment. An improvement was noted at the end of the study, also as regards language, in favor of the therapeutic regimen containing PEA. No serious adverse events were observed in the two groups “.
Although autism spectrum disorders “find a certain multifactorial origin, up to now it has not been possible to delineate with absolute precision the molecular and cellular mechanisms responsible for this pathology. However, in the last 10 years, evidence has been provided by both preclinical research and from the clinical one they have identified in neuroinflammation a factor involved in an important way in the onset and progression of the disease. From this – notes the expert – it follows that a more complete understanding of the role of neuroinflammation in the pathogenesis of autism is of paramount importance for the identification of the therapeutic strategy for a pathological condition that to date lacks effective interventions “. A persistent condition of neuroinflammation, he says, “causes disruption of the architecture and functional alterations in critical areas of the brain with very serious sequelae when all this occurs in periods of development. In this context it is easy to understand how research has always attempted to identify molecules capable of antagonizing neuroinflammation. Particular attention in recent years has been given to ultramicronized palmitoylethanolamide, a molecule that has been shown to have the ability to reduce neuroinflammation “.
“The importance of these results also derives from the observation of the absolute lack of adverse events and side effects on the part of the compound. In a scenario of absolute absence of drugs capable of preventing the onset and antagonizing the progression of autistic pathology, the possibility of being able to using palmitoylethanolamide in an ultramicronized form, a compound now present also in a pediatric formulation, whose anti-neuro-inflammatory and anti-neurodegenerative properties are demonstrated by robust experimental and clinical evidence – concludes Steardo – opens up new horizons for the therapy of a very serious disease that requires safe interventions , early and targeted “.
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