Clinical trials with a 100-old drug showed surprising results for autism spectrum disorder or ASD. This drug may potentially help people suffering from autism.

Researchers at the University Of California San Diego School of Medicine performed the tests, and involved a drug known as suramin. This drug was first used in 1916 to cure sleeping sickness in Africa.

Around 1 in 160 children are estimated to have ASD worldwide, although the severity of symptoms ranges widely. Scientists are still working to develop a precise picture of the genetic and environmental confluence of factors that can cause autism.
Now researchers from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have published a research article in the Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology that shows a tentative link between a 100-year old medication and improvements in children with autism.

Scientists also revealed that they could not afford a more large-scale research in the absence of adequate funding. They assert that more research needs to be conducted to see if suramin, which is currently not an approved drug, can be used to treat autism spectrum disorder cases. Studies would also need to determine if the long-term use of the century-old drug caused any serious side effects.

Source: seeker.com, sciencealert.com, techtimes.com