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Effects of pyridoxine and magnesium on autistic symptoms—Initial observations

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Abstract

In an open trial, a heterogeneous group of 44 children with autistic symptoms were treated with large doses of vitamin B6 and magnesium. Clinical improvement with worsening on termination of the trial was observed in 15 children. Thirteen responders and 8 nonresponders were retested in a 2-week, crossover, double-blind trial, and the responses to the open trial were confirmed.

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This work was supported by CNRS (ERA 697) “Biological Methods in Neuropsychiatry,” INSERM ATP 78-97 and C.L.79, DGRST, DNP 78-7-2787, Fondation pour la Recherche Medicale and the Langley Porter Psychiatric Institute, University of California, San Francisco, California 94143. The pyridoxine was supplied by courtesy of Hoffman-LaRoche and Specia. We thank Ms. Gabard for her technical assistance, Ms. Besnardeau and Ms. Lioret for scoring the clinical data, and Danielle Thouvenin for editorial assistance.

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Lelord, G., Muh, J.P., Barthelemy, C. et al. Effects of pyridoxine and magnesium on autistic symptoms—Initial observations. J Autism Dev Disord 11, 219–230 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01531686

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