Neurologic treatment strategies in autism: an overview of medical intervention strategies.

Child neurologists are likely to be caring for an increasing number of patients with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD). ASD may occur in as many as 1/100 to 1/200 births. It appears to be a multifactorial disease, with many phenotypes or subgroups. No simple treatment is currently approved for curing or managing core symptoms of autism. We rationally propose a symptom-based review of what treatments may offer relief to specific subtypes of clinical behaviors seen in autism. There is a lack of clinically based evidence on which to universally recommend a rational clinical algorithm for treatment; we suggest that rational pharmacotherapy may offer symptomatic relief to core areas of dysfunction in the autistic population. Future research into rational medical treatment options is desperately needed.