In The Politics of Autism, I write:
The conventional wisdom is that any kind of treatment is likely to be less effective as the child gets older, so parents of autistic children usually believe that they are working against the clock. They will not be satisfied with the ambiguities surrounding ABA, nor will they want to wait for some future research finding that might slightly increase its effectiveness. They want results now. Because there are no scientifically-validated drugs for the core symptoms of autism, they look outside the boundaries of mainstream medicine and FDA approval. Studies have found that anywhere from 28 to 54 percent of autistic children receive “complementary and alternative medicine” (CAM), and these numbers probably understate CAM usage.
Developed and trademarked by a Newport Beach-based company called Wave Neuroscience, MERT is a version of transcranial magnetic stimulation, or TMS, which is approved by the FDA to treat major depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder and cigarette addiction. Clinics offering cash-pay TMS treatments for a variety of off-label conditions have proliferated in recent years. MERT, in particular, has become popular among families with autistic children.
Thousands of parents have sought MERT for their autistic children, often paying $10,000 or more for treatments and related expenses. The Times spent nearly a year evaluating research and interviewing psychiatrists and neuroscientists about the science behind MERT providers’ claims. Here are the key takeaways from our investigation.
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No large scientific studies show MERT is significantly better than a placebo in altering symptoms of autism, according to nine psychiatrists and neuroscientists with expertise in brain stimulation and autism. Wave Neuroscience, the therapy’s developer, has not conducted any clinical trials on MERT and autism.
Multiple researchers are currently examining whether TMS could improve certain symptoms of autism. But researchers interviewed for The Times’ articles said there isn’t yet enough evidence to recommend TMS as an autism therapy, or to say with confidence that it works for that condition.
“Off-label treatment can be just fine so long as there’s data to support this and the risks are low,” said Dr. Andrew Leuchter, director of UCLA’s TMS Clinical and Research Service. For autism, he said, “the evidence base is not very strong. … And I don’t think that there is sufficient evidence to recommend the use of TMS for the treatment specifically of autism.”
