UMIN-CTR Study Design: trial Number: R000016846.

This study is the first double-blinded RCT proving the efficacy of vitamin D3 in ASD patients. Depending on the parameters measured in the study, oral vitamin D supplementation may safely improve signs and symptoms of ASD and could be recommended for children with ASD. At this stage, this study is a single RCT with a small number of patients, and a great deal of additional wide-scale studies are needed to critically validate the efficacy of vitamin D in ASD.

BACKGROUND: Physicians working in Saudi Arabia belong to different countries and may have differences in knowledge and attitude towards psychiatry. We evaluated non psychiatric physician’s knowledge and attitude towards psychiatric disorders, such as anxiety and depression, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional study design was used. The current knowledge and attitude towards anxiety and depression of physicians were determined by using a questionnaire. We distributed 180 study questionnaires at various hospitals to be answered by physicians in the Riyadh Province of Saudi Arabia. One hundred and forty-two completed questionnaires were included in the study. The participants were divided into three groups: (1) 63(44.4%) general practitioners (GPs), (2) 55 (38.7%) specialists and (3) 24 (16.9%) family practitioners. Data were analysed using the chi-square, ANOVA and independent sample t-test.RESULTS: GPs and specialists showed a negative attitude towards psychiatric patients, but family practitioners showed a positive attitude. There were statistically significant differences (p˂0.05) in the knowledge regarding anxiety and depression among the groups. The relationship between specialty and knowledge was statistically significant (p˂0.05) and the effect of first language is insignificant (p>0.05).CONCLUSION: Expansive enlightenment programmes, continued medical education and inclusion of psychiatric posting in rotating residential internship programme during undergraduate courses are required for physicians not only to fill the gap in knowledge and attitude but also to improve their cognitive, communication and interpersonal skills.

95 cases itself. A number of significant discrepancies emerged between the re-analysis and the findings reported in the paper both in terms of means and standard deviations of key outcome variables across the trial. These involved very substantial differences that we judged to be extremely unlikely to have arisen due to variations in composition of the original and re-analysed samples. We also discovered previously unidentified/reported problems with missing data and recording irregularities regarding changes in treatment regimen and subject identifiers.

ObjectiveThere is growing evidence for a gut-brain connection associated with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). This suggests a potential benefit from introduced digestive enzymes for children with ASD.MethodsWe performed a double-blind, randomized clinical trial on 101 children with ASD (82 boys and 19 girls) aged from 3 to 9 years. ASD patients were diagnosed according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 4th edition, text revision (DSM-IV-TR) diagnostic criteria. Structured interviews of at least one hour each both with the parents and the child were performed. Later on, another two hours-session was conducted applying the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS). ASD patients were randomized to receive digestive enzymes or placebo.ResultsThe ASD group receiving digestive enzyme therapy for 3 months had significant improvement in emotional response, general impression autistic score, general behavior and gastrointestinal symptoms. Our study demonstrated the usefulness of digestive enzyme in our population of ASD patients.ConclusionDigestive enzymes are inexpensive, readily available, have an excellent safety profile, and have mildly beneficial effects in ASD patients. Depending on the parameter measured in our study, we propose digestive enzymes for managing symptoms of ASD. Digestive enzyme therapy may be a possible option in treatment protocols for ASD in the future.