CHICAGO — Desperate to help their autistic children, hundreds of parents nationwide are turning to an unproven and potentially damaging treatment: multiple high doses of a drug sometimes used to chemically castrate sex offenders.
The therapy is based on a theory, unsupported by mainstream medicine, that autism is caused by a harmful link between mercury and testosterone. Children with autism have too much of the hormone, according to the theory, and a drug called Lupron can fix that.
"Lupron is the miracle drug," said Dr. Mark Geier of Maryland. He and his son developed the "Lupron protocol" for autism and are marketing it across the country, opening eight clinics in six states. But experts say the idea that Lupron can work miracles for children with autism is not grounded in scientific evidence.
Four of the world's top pediatric endocrinologists say the Lupron protocol is baseless, supported only by junk science. More than two dozen prominent endocrinologists dismissed the treatment earlier this year in a paper published online by the journal Pediatrics.
Simon Baron-Cohen, a professor of developmental psychopathology at the University of Cambridge in England and director of the Autism Research Center in Cambridge, said it is irresponsible to treat autistic children with Lupron.
"The idea of using it with vulnerable children with autism, who do not have a life-threatening disease and pose no danger to anyone, without a careful trial to determine the unwanted side effects or indeed any benefits, fills me with horror," he said.
Experts in childhood hormones warn that Lupron can disrupt normal development, interfering with natural puberty and potentially putting children's hearts and bones at risk. The treatment also means subjecting children to daily injections, including painful shots deep into muscle every other week.
Geier, who is not board certified in any specialty relevant to autism and the use of Lupron -- including pediatrics, endocrinology, psychiatry and neurology -- does not dispute that his protocol amounts to chemical castration.
So far, he and his son David, who has a bachelor's degree in biology, say they have treated about 300 autistic children and a handful of adults with Lupron; an additional 200 people are being tested.
Several parents whose children are on Lupron assert that it works, saying their children are better-behaved and show cognitive improvement.
