Read the original article here: http://www.huliq.com/10017/new-autism-treatment-drug-km-391-development

Now, I’m not a doctor nor a scientist, so obviously I can’t speak about exactly how effective this would be, but I have 2 concerns about it.

1. Serotonin levels are usually associated with depression, paxil and prozac and other depression medications usually work to elevate or level out your Serotonin levels in an effort to make you more ‘chemically balanced’ and thus, happier. Now, I know that Autism and Depression often go hand in hand but I seriously doubt that they’re linked medically/chemically. If a low Serotonin level can make you depressed, how can it also make you Autistic just some of the time?

2. If they do not have any clue what it is that causes Autism, how can they make a drug that treats it? The answer is, you can’t, well, unless you got real lucky! But ultimately you can’t hope to change the chemical balance of a human being to cure a disorder without knowing what, if any, chemical imbalance is causing it!

Now, it sounds to me that they could simply be developing a new anti-depressant which will ultimately make an Autistic person happier, and I do believe a happy Autistic is less likely to exhibit ‘Autistic like’ symptoms… it only stands to reason that being happier would mean less tantrums, violence and so forth.

But isn’t that really just a ploy then?? I mean, could we just be pumping our kids full of Prozac just as easily and calling that a treatment? If this new drug does the same thing as an anti-depressant… why not just use an anti-depressant?

I guess what I’m saying is, if you take a bottle of Evian water, and take off the label and stick on a “Premium, no fat, no calorie, no sugar, no salt weight loss beverage”… does that make it any more a diet aid?? Or is it still a bottle of water?

Again, I’m no doctor, not a scientist, just a guy at home reading up on this stuff, so if you know more than I do, or have your own opinions, please feel free to comment or go with what you believe.