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Fig. 2 | Molecular Autism

Fig. 2

From: Pharmacological and dietary-supplement treatments for autism spectrum disorder: a systematic review and network meta-analysis

Fig. 2

Summary forest plots for commonly used medications, i.e., antipsychotics, ADHD medications, antiepileptic/mood-stabilizers, sleep medications. Effect-sizes (standardized mean differences—SMDs and their 95% confidence intervals) of comparisons with placebo are presented for each medication, outcome and age group. SMDs are presented with squares in children/adolescents and circles in adults, and their size is proportional to the inverse standard error of the effect size. For dichotomous outcomes (response, dropouts due to any cause or adverse event, any adverse event, sedation, weight gain, extrapyramidal symptoms), odds ratios were converted to SMDs. The results are based on network meta-analysis, except for irritability, response, sedation, weight gain and extrapyramidal symptoms (EPS) in children/adolescents, since pairwise meta-analyses were conducted due to incoherence or disconnected networks. SMDs > 0 indicate more improvement or fewer dropouts/adverse events with the medication in comparison with placebo, SMDs = 0 indicate no difference between medication and placebo, and SMDs < 0 indicate less improvement or more dropouts/adverse events with the medication in comparison with placebo. SMDs could be interpreted as small (SMD =|0.2|), medium (SMD =|0.5|) and large (SMD =|0.8|), and these thresholds are presented with dashed lines. There were no usable data for methylphenidate, and effect-sizes for this drug are not presented. k = total number of studies for the intervention with data for at least an outcome and age group, n = total number of participants on the intervention with data for at least an outcome and age group. EPS extrapyramidal symptoms, RB repetitive behaviors, SCD social-communication difficulties

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